About

Louis Fouché is the saxophonist with Louis Cato & The Late Show Band (formerly Jon Batiste & Stay Human) on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and with 10-time Grammy winner Eddie Palmieri.

Fouché has steadily established himself as a distinct voice in his generation on the alto saxophone, yet his path to a career in music was not typical – his first love as a young child was science.

At age 12, Fouché first heard the soulful sound of tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine on Jimmy Smith's classic album Back at the Chicken Shack. He was immediately inspired and began to tinker with an old saxophone his father had stored in the basement.

That summer, Fouché attended the Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp in New Orleans while visiting his grandparents. There he received instruction from renowned musicians Edward "Kidd" Jordan, Alvin Batiste, Clyde Kerr, Kent Jordan, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. He also befriended a number of young musicians, including trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, trombonist Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, and pianist Jon Batiste. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah introduced Fouché to his uncle, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, who became one of Fouché's mentors.

Fouché attended college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he earned degrees in physics and chemical engineering. As a college junior in 2006, Fouché began to tour and record with Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s band while balancing his academic responsibilities. Fouché graduated from MIT in 2007 and decided to pursue his passion in music.

Fouché has performed in 30+ countries on 6 continents with artists in various genres, including the legendary Latin pianist Eddie Palmieri, Late Show bandleader and piano virtuoso Jon Batiste, trumpet luminaries Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Brian Lynch, innovative funk bassist George Porter Jr. of the Meters, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Gordon Chambers, and many others.

In December of 2012, Fouché independently released his first recording as a bandleader entitled Subjective Mind. This recording is a reflection of his unique background and explores the relationship between his objective, analytical focus in science and his subjective, spiritual emphasis in music. Subjective Mind was the #1 new jazz release on Amazon.com and #1 most requested on WRTI Philadelphia and has received radio play internationally.