Jon Batiste Is In A Class Of His Own The Oscar-winning Jazz artist simply defines his musicianship as "social music" and the visuals for his new single "Freedom" solidify that stance. On the night of this year’s Academy Awards, Jon Batiste stood tall at the podium. Wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a pinned floral embellishment, the jazz singer warmly scanned the room. “God gave us 12 notes. It’s the same 12 notes that Duke Ellington had, that Bach had, Nina Simone…”, he recited during the captivating acceptance speech. Alongside fellow composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Batiste received an Oscar for the musical compositions featured in Disney-Pixar’s