The winners of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards were announced on January 26, during a star-studded ceremony held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, hosted by Alicia Keys. The ceremony was held on the same day as the death of basketball hero Kobe Bryant, who was honored with a performance of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” by Keys and Boyz II Men.
The big winners of the night in the jazz categories included Esperanza Spalding, bagging her fourth Grammy for her seventh studio album, 12 Little Spells, and pianist/composer Brad Mehldau, finally getting his first for Finding Gabriel after several nominations. The other winners were Randy Brecker, Chick Corea & The Spanish Heart Band and Randy Brecker.
Elsewhere, multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier won for his arrangements of “Moon River” and “All Night Long,” respectively for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella and Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals.
Check out all the nominees in the Grammy’s five jazz categories. Winners are written in bold.
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Sara Gazarek, Thirsty Ghost (self-released)
Jazzmeia Horn, Love & Liberation (Concord Jazz)
Catherine Russell, Alone Together (Dot Time)
Esperanza Spalding, 12 Little Spells (Concord)
The Tierney Sutton Band, Screenplay (BFM Jazz)
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Joey DeFrancesco, In the Key of the Universe (Mack Avenue)
Branford Marsalis Quartet, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul (Okeh)
Christian McBride, Christian McBride’s New Jawn (Mack Avenue)
Brad Mehldau, Finding Gabriel (Nonesuch)
Joshua Redman Quartet, Come What May (Nonesuch)
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Anat Cohen Tentet, Triple Helix (Anzic)
Miho Hazama, Dancer in Nowhere (Sunnyside)
Mike Holober & The Gotham Jazz Orchestra, Hiding Out (ZOHO)
Brian Lynch Big Band, The Omni-American Book Club (Holistic MusicWorks)
Terraza Big Band, One Day Wonder (Outside In Music)
Best Latin Jazz Album
Chick Corea & The Spanish Heart Band, Antidote (Concord Jazz)
Thalma de Freitas With Vitor Gonçalves, John Patitucci, Chico Pinheiro, Rogerio Boccato & Duduka Da Fonseca, Sorte!: Music by John Finsbury (Green Flash)
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Una Noche Con Rubén Blades (Blue Engine)
David Sánchez, Carib (Ropeadope)
Miguel Zenón, Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (Miel)
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Melissa Aldana, “Elsewhere” from Sesc Jazz: Melissa Aldana Quartet (Ao Vivo) (Selo SESC)
Randy Brecker, “Sozinho” from Rocks (Piloo)
Julian Lage, “Tomorrow is the Question” from Love Hurts (Mack Avenue)
Branford Marsalis, “The Windup” from The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul (Okeh)
Christian McBride, “Sightseeing” from Christian McBride’s New Jawn (Mack Avenue)
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