Joe Saylor is a

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, educator,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician and member of the house band for '' The Late'' '' Show with Stephen Colbert''.

Early life and education

Saylor was born in

Indiana, Pennsylvania Indiana is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 14,044 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Indiana, Pennsylvania micropolitan area, about northeast of Pittsburgh. ...

, to Paula and Nevin Saylor, who are music teachers in Pennsylvania public schools. His brother, Ben, teaches music at the Indiana Area School District's elementary schools. Saylor graduated from Indiana Area Senior High School in 2004, and attended

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a Public university, public research university in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Carnegie Classification o ...

, the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Career

Saylor plays percussion in

The Late Show Band The Late Show Band is a band originally founded and led by Americans, American musician Jon Batiste as Stay Human. They became the house band for Stephen Colbert's late-night talk show ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' on September 8, 2015. ...

, the house band for ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

''. He also performs at various jazz clubs, festivals, and venues worldwide. He has conducted jazz workshops at various educational institutions, such as

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He has performed at venues including the

Howard Theater The Howard Theatre is a historic theater, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., has been a pillar of the community since its opening in 1910. This historic venue, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, showc ...

the White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 whe ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

Rockwood Music Hall Rockwood Music Hall is a music venue at 196 Allen Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Owner Ken Rockwood, aka "The Professor", opened the establishment in 2005 as a small bar and music venue. Today, the venue features t ...

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

, and the Great GoogaMooga. He has performed or recorded with

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince (musician), ...

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved critical acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing styles ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

Dwayne Dolphin Dwayne Dolphin is a jazz and funk bassist, composer, and educator who grew up and lives in Pittsburgh. He's been an adjunct faculty member in Duquesne University's Jazz Performance Department and currently leads his own band, the Dwayne Dolphin F ...

, Steve Wilson,

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist. T ...

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...

, Ellis Marsalis, and Emmet Cohen on his "Live at Emmet's Place" series. He appeared on the cover and feature article of the April 2016 issue of ''

Modern Drummer ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

'', was featured in the March 2014 issue of ''Drum Magazine'', and appeared on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Treme'' in 2010.

Endorsements

Saylor endorses

Tama Drums Tama Drums (from Japanese: (Kanji); (Kana)) is a brand of drums and hardware manufactured and marketed by Hoshino Gakki. The research and development of its products, along with production of its professional drum lines, is done in Seto, ...

Avedis Zildjian Company The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenians, Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empi ...

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

, and

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

Discography

Sources:

With
Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince (musician), ...

* ''Live In New York: At The Rubin Museum Of Art'' (self-released, 2006) * ''Jazz is Now'' (Naht Jona, 2013) – drums,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

, group member * ''Social Music'' (

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles and ...

, 2013) – drums, tambourine, associate producer, composer * ''Christmas With Jon Batiste'' (self-released, 2016) * ''Hollywood Africans'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

, 2018) * ''Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Verve, 2019) – drums * ''Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Verve, 2019) – drums * ''A Little Bit of Soul'' (

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

, 2020) – drums * ''We Are: Roots & Traditions'' (Verve, 2020) * ''Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

, 2020) * ''Live at Electric Lady'' (Verve, 2021) – drums, tambourine * ''

We Are We Are may refer to: * We Are (Jon Batiste album), ''We Are'' (Jon Batiste album), 2021 * We Are (The City Harmonic album), ''We Are'' (The City Harmonic album), 2015 * We Are (Lucy Spraggan album), ''We Are'' (Lucy Spraggan album), 2015 * We Are ( ...

'' (Verve, 2021) – drums, tambourine * ''We Are the Golden Ones'' (Universal, 2021) – drums * ''The Summer Collection'' (Universal, 2022) – drums, tambourine * ''The Evening Collection'' (Universal, 2022) – drums * ''The Nominated Collection'' (Universal, 2022) – tambourine * ''Saturday Night riginal Score' ( Saturday Night/

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, 2024) – drums * ''The New Orleans Collection'' (Universal, 2025) – drums, tambourine

With others

* Craig Davis, ''Out of the Gate'' (Alanna, 2006) – main personnel, drums *

Matt Savage Matthew James "Matt" Savage (born May 12, 1992) is an American autistic savant musician. Early life Born in Sudbury, Massachusetts,Pine, Dan"Autistic jazz prodigy already playing with greats" ''The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California'', S ...

, ''Hot Ticket: Live In Boston'' (Savage, 2008) * Kęstutis Vaiginis, ''Unexpected Choices'' (Semplice, 2008) * Various artists, ''The Roads They've Taken'' (

International Trumpet Guild The International Trumpet Guild (ITG) is an international organization of trumpet players. Members include professional and amateur performers, teachers, students, manufacturers, publishers, and others interested in the trumpet. ITG is a nonprof ...

, 2009) * Various artists, ''Lithuanian Jazz Federation Presents: LT Jazz From Lithuania 2010'' ( NoBusiness/Lithuanian Jazz Federation, 2010) *

Cyrille Aimée Cyrille Aimée Daudel (; born 10 August 1984) is a French jazz singer. Biography She grew up in the French town of Samois-sur-Seine, in Fontainebleau, France. Her father is French and her mother is from the Dominican Republic. She won the '' ...

, ''Live At Smalls'' ( SmallsLIVE, 2011) * Spike Wilner, ''La Tendresse'' ( Posi-Tone, 2012) – drums * Nick Vayenas, ''Some Other Time'' (

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow ( current) gradients. Whirlwinds can vary in size and last from a cou ...

, 2013) * Various artists, ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

, Vol. 2 usic from the Original HBO Series' (

ABKCO ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is an American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the Animal ...

/Universal, 2013) – drums * Various artists, ''Boardwalk Empire, Vol. 3: Music from HBO Series'' riginal Soundtrack(ABKCO, 2015) – percussion * Lori Henriques, ''Legion of Peace: Songs Inspired by Laureates'' (

Motéma Music Motéma Music is a jazz and world music record label in the United States. It was founded in 2003 in San Francisco Bay Area by label president and recording artist Jana Herzen. The label has received Grammy recognition more than 25 times for a ...

, 2018) – drums, percussion * Lauren Henderson, ''Alma Oscura'' (Brontosaurus, 2020) *

Remy Le Boeuf Remy Le Boeuf (born August 3, 1986) is a jazz saxophonist, composer and multi-instrumentalist born in Santa Cruz, California. He leads the jazz orchestra Assembly of Shadows, co-leads the jazz group Le Boeuf Brothers, and has a successful solo car ...

, ''Architecture of Storms'' (Soundspore, 2021) – tambourine *

Julius Rodriguez Julius Rodriguez, also known as "Orange Julius", is an American pianist, drummer and composer. In 2021, Rodriguez signed with Verve Records. Biography Early life Rodriguez grew up in White Plains, New York and is of Haitian descent. He bega ...

, ''Let Sound Tell All'' (Verve, 2022) – drums * Jon Lampley, ''Night Service Live At LunAtico'' (self-released, 2024)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saylor, Joe Living people People from Indiana, Pennsylvania American percussionists Jazz percussionists The Late Show Band members Year of birth missing (living people) The Late Show with Stephen Colbert