David Russell Batiste Jr. (born December 12, 1965
) is an American drummer based in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Biography

Brought up in a musical family, Batiste started playing drums at the age of four. He also learned to play keyboards, saxophone, guitar and bass, and started to play in the family band when he was seven. Batiste left college after two years to join

Charmaine Neville Charmaine Neville (born March 31, 1956) is a New Orleans-based jazz singer. Biography Raised Catholic, she is the daughter of Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers. She is the lead singer of the Charmaine Neville Band, a jazz and funk ba ...

's band. He joined the funky Meters, the reincarnation of the funk band The Meters, in 1989. The funky Meters without

Art Neville Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band ...

currently plays under the name ''Porter Batiste Stoltz (PBS)''. (with George Porter Jr. on bass, and Brian Stoltz on guitar) As a solo artist, he leads his own band Russell Batiste Jr. and the Orkestra from 'Da Hood and has released two albums under the name. Batiste also plays regularly with organ player

Joe Krown Joe Krown is an American keyboardist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Apart from being a solo artist, he is the full time member of Kenny Wayne Shepherd band. He plays New Orleans styled piano and also Hammond B3 organ. Krown has played regul ...

and guitarist

Walter "Wolfman" Washington Walter "Wolfman" Washington (December 20, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer and guitarist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. While his roots were in blues music, he blended in the essence of funk and R&B to cre ...

as the ''Krown Washington Batiste'' trio. This unit released a live CD ''Live at the Maple Leaf'' in 2008. Batiste has performed with wide range of musicians and bands including Papa Grows Funk,

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

Harry Connick Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orleans ...

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

and

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of B ...

. In 1987 Batiste was in the New Orleans funk band Nuclear Rhythms featuring percussionist songwriter Rosie Rosato, psychedelic funk guitarist songwriter Dirk Billie , bassist songwriter Mark Adam Miller and guitar and keyboard player David M. Brown.

Discography

Solo works

* 2000 ''Orkestra from 'Da Hood'' (Russell Batiste Jr.) * 2003 ''The Clinic'' (Russell Batiste Jr.) New Orleans Music Guide Book, p. 206, Blues Interactions

With The Funky Meters

* 2003 ''Fiyo at the Fillmore, Vol. 1'' (Fuel 2000)

With Vida Blue

* 2002 ''

'' (Elektra) * 2003 ''

The Illustrated Band ''The Illustrated Band'' is the second album from Vida Blue, featuring Phish keyboardist Page McConnell along with bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Russell Batiste. The album features four long tracks performed alongside The Spam Allstars, a ...

'' (Sanctuary) * 2019 ''

Crossing Lines ''Crossing Lines'' is a German-French-Italian-American action crime thriller television series created by Edward Allen Bernero and Rola Bauer. The series premiered on June 9, 2013, at the screening for the Opening Ceremonies of the 53rd editio ...

'' (ATO Records)

With Porter Batiste Stoltz

* 2005 ''Expanding The Funkin' Universe'' (Ouw) * 2008 ''Moodoo'' (High Steppin' Productions)

With Krown Washington Batiste

* 2008 ''Live at the Maple Leaf'' (Independent) * 2010 ''Triple Threat'' (Independent) * 2013 ''Soul Understanding'' (Independent)

References

External links

The funky Meters official website

Porter Batiste Stolz official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batiste, Russell Jr. 1965 births Living people African-American drummers American funk drummers American male drummers Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people