Larry D. Batiste is a songwriter, producer, arranger, vocalist, educator, and music director who has written songs for and recorded with Santana, Al Jarreau, Patti Austin, Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, Bill Summers & Summers Heat, Natalie Cole, The Dazz Band, Huey Lewis & The News, Charlie Wilson, and Jeezy. He formerly taught songwriting, publishing, and career development at San Francisco State University. He is best known as musical director of the Grammy Awards Pre-Telecast and NAMM's TEC Awards. Batiste has also worked on numerous Grammy winning and nominated recordings, received commissions from the Oakland Symphony, inducted into the Black Music Association of the Arts Hall of Fame in 2020, and nominated for a 2023 Guild of Music Supervisors Award for Best Song Written for Television.