Alvin Batiste, born November 7, 1932, in New Orleans, Louisiana, was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, pianist, composer, and music educator. After receiving classical training on the clarinet, he began performing during high school with drummer Ed Blackwell, as well as with Guitar Slim and Ukulele Lemon. Following military service, he launched his professional career in New Orleans in the mid-1950s. In 1956, he founded the American Jazz Quintet with Ellis Marsalis, Harold Battiste, and Blackwell to perform modern chamber jazz. He toured with Ray Charles in 1958, subsequently studied at Southern University in Baton Rouge, and performed Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra. He later established the group Jazzstronauts. From 1969 until the mid-1980s, he taught at and directed the Jazz Institute of Southern University, mentoring notable students such as Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, and Herlin Riley. His work as a leader is documented on five albums, including Bayou Magic (1988) and Late (1993). As a collaborator, he recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Billy Cobham, and Wynton Marsalis, and composed three suites for the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra. He died on May 6, 2007, in New Orleans. His final album, Marsalis Music Honors Series: Alvin Batiste (2007), was released posthumously.
