SJW at the Grammys!
The 65th Grammy Awards ceremony happens this coming Sunday, February 5, and SJW faculty artists and alumni are well-represented among the nominees.
Trombonists have to endure jokes to an extent unknown by performers of other instruments — but these SJW faculty artists are having the last laugh. Javier Nero and Natalie Cressman (top row) were both part of the SJW Mentor Fellowship program, and they’re on SJW alumnus Remy LeBoeuf’s Assembly of Shadows big band recording, Architecture of Storms, which is up for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. The faculty members on the bottom row include former Mentor Fellow Jon Hatamiya and Lemar Guillary, who performed on Michael Bublé’s new release, Higher, which is nominated in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category.
Every year, we have amazing blues artists who perform at the Stanford Jazz Festival and give workshops at Jazz Camp. Several of our recent Blues Night artists are up for awards.
Shemekia Copeland is nominated in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category for her album Done Come Too Far; Charlie Musselwhite’s Mississippi Son is nominated in the Best Traditional Blues Album category; and Keb’ Mo’s nomination is for his release Good To Be in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.
Jazz Camp alums are always turning up in the Grammy nomination lists, and this year, we’re especially proud to see twin brothers Remy and Pascal LeBoeuf with Grammy nominations! Remy’s Assembly of Shadows big band recording, Architecture of Storms, is nominated in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category, and Pascal’s composition “Snapshots” is up for Best Instrumental Composition.
SJW faculty artists are all noted for their skills as performers and composers, but some have particularly deep talents for arranging. In the Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals category. Becca Stevens is up “2 + 2 = 5” on her recent release, Becca Stevens | Attaca Quartet. Cécile McLorin Salvant arranged “Optimistic Voices / No Love Dying” on her recent release, Ghost Song. Vince Mendoza is nominated for his orchestral arrangement of Christine McVie’s “Songbird”.
Several other beloved SJW alums and faculty artists are nominated in other jazz categories. Ambrose Akinmusire and Melissa Aldana are nominated in the Best Improvised Jazz Solo category. Joshua Redman is up for the Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his album, LongGone with Brian Blade, Christian McBride, and Brad Mehldau. Dayna Stephens performed on Remy LeBoeuf’s Assembly of Shadows big band recording, Architecture of Storms, which is up for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
Sign up for Jazz Camp or Jazz Institute, and study with these and other Grammy-nominated artists at SJW this summer!
