Rafu Staff Report
The winners of the 66th annual Grammy Awards were announced Feb. 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles.
Nominees and winners of Asian Pacific Islander background include the following:
Best Alternative Jazz Album: Nominees included “Love in Exile,” Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily. Winner: “The Omnichord Real Book,” Meshell Ndegeocello
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: The winner was “Bewitched” by Laufey. Her father is Icelandic and her mother is Chinese.
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album: The winner was “As We Speak” by Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia.
Best Tropical Latin Album: Nominees included “MIMY & TONY” by Tony Succar and Mimy Succar, who are Japanese Peruvian. Winner: “Siembra: 45º Aniversario (En Vivo en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, 14 de Mayo 2022),” Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Best Global Music Performance: The winner was “Pashto” by Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia. Nominees included “Shadow Forces,” Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily; and “Abundance in Millets,” Falu and Gaurav Shah (featuring PM Narendra Modi).
Best Global Music Album: The winner was “This Moment” by Shakti (John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, V.Selvaganesh, Ganesh Rajagopalan). Nominees included “History” by Bokanté, whose members include Keita Ogawa.
Best Music Video: Nominees included “What Was I Made For” (Billie Eilish); Billie Eilish, video director; Michelle An, Chelsea Dodson and David Moore, video producers. Winner: “I’m Only Sleeping” (The Beatles), Em Cooper, video director; Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin and Laura Thomas, video producers
Best Recording Package: Nominees included “Cadenza 21′,” Hsing-Hui Cheng, art director (Ensemble Cadenza 21′); and “Migration,” Yu Wei, art director (Leaf Yeh). Winner: “Stumpwork,” Rottingdean Bazaar and Annie Collinge, art directors (Dry Cleaning)
Best Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package: Nominees included “Gieo,” Duy Dao, art director (Ngot); and “Words & Music, May 1965-Deluxe Edition,” Masaki Koike, art director (Lou Reed). Winner: “For the Birds: The Birdsong Project,” Jeri Heiden and John Heiden, art directors (various artists)
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: Nominees included “The Record,” Owen Lantz, Will Maclellan, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh “Garry” Purohit and Sarah Tudzin, engineers; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer (boygenius). Winner: “Jaguar II,” John Kercy, Kyle Mann, Victoria Monét, Patrizio “Teezio” Pigliapoco, Neal H Pogue and Todd Robinson, engineers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer (Victoria Monét)
Best Engineered Album, Classical: Nominees included “Fandango,” Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, Anne Akiko Meyers, Gustavo Castillo and Los Angeles Philharmonic). Winner: “Contemporary American Composers,” David Frost and Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Best Instrumental Composition: Nominees included “Motion,” Edgar Meyer, composer (Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain featuring Rakesh Chaurasia). Winner: “Helena’s Theme,” John Williams, composer
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: Nominees included “Beethoven for Three: Symphony No. 6, ‘Pastorale’ and Op. 1, No. 3,” Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax and Leonidas Kavakos. Winner: “Rough Magic,” Roomful of Teeth
Best Classical Instrumental Solo: The winner was “The American Project,” Yuja Wang; Teddy Abrams, conductor (Louisville Orchestra). Nominees included “Akiho: Cylinders,” Andy Akiho.
Best Classical Compendium: Nominees included “Fandango,” Anne Akiko Meyers; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Dmitriy Lipay, producer; and “Sculptures,” Andy Akiho; Andy Akiho and Sean Dixon, producers. Winner: “Passion for Bach and Coltrane,” Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith and A.B. Spellman; Silas Brown and Mark Dover, producers
Best Contemporary Classical Composition: Nominees included “Akiho: In That Space, At That Time,” Andy Akiho, composer (Andy Akiho, Ankush Kumar Bahl and Omaha Symphony. Winner: “Montgomery: Rounds,” Jessie Montgomery, composer (Awadagin Pratt, A Far Cry and Roomful of Teeth)
To see the complete list of winners, go to: https://www.grammy.com/news/2024-grammys-nominations-full-winners-nominees-list
In Memoriam
During the ceremony and on its website, the Recording Academy remembered members of the music community who passed away in 2022-24, including:
Cobi Narita, an indefatigable jazz impresario who for more than 40 years in New York City produced concerts, celebrated female artists in an annual festival, and ran performance spaces.
Hiroshi Morie, a musician and singer/songwriter known exclusively by his stage name, Heath. He was best known as bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1992 to 1997, and again from 2007 until his death in 2023.
Keiko Okuya Jones, widow of hall-of-fame drummer and bandleader Elvin Jones. They married 1971 and remained together until Jones’ passing in 2004. She served as his business partner, personal gatekeeper, tour manager and drum technician, and is credited as composer or arranger of a few tunes he recorded.
Leiji Matsumoto, a manga artist and creator of several anime and manga series. He supervised the creation of several music videos for the French house group Daft Punk, set to tracks from their album “Discovery.”
Nobuyuki Idei, chairman and group chief executive officer of Sony Corporation. He was named CEO in 1999 and served until 2005.
Ryuichi Sakamoto, a composer, pianist, record producer, and actor who pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra. His film scores, including “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” and “The Last Emperor,” were honored by BAFTA, the Golden Globes, the Grammy Awards and the Academy Awards.
Sakevi Yokoyama, vocalist for the Japanese hardcore punk/metal band G.I.S.M., which attained cult status in the international punk scene. Roadrunner Records ranked him No. 49 out of 50 of “The Greatest Metal Frontmen of All Time.”
Shoji Tabuchi, a country music fiddler and singer who performed at his own theater in Branson, Mo. He made numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame in 2020.
Tohru Okada, a composer, arranger and producer. He was the keyboardist for the influential Japanese rock band The Moonriders, created the PlayStation logo sound, and composed the score for Satoshi Kon’s anime film “Tokyo Godfathers.”
Toru Mitsui, bluegrass artist and one of the world’s leading scholars in the field of popular music studies. He published over 20 books, including “Popular Music in Japan: Transformation Inspired by the West,” translated many books and articles, and wrote notes for LP and CD albums.
Yukihiro Takahashi, a musician, singer, record producer, and actor who was best known as the drummer and lead vocalist of Yellow Magic Orchestra and as the former drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band. He was also a member of the group Metafive.
Yuzo Toyama, an acclaimed composer and conductor. As a conductor he served with numerous orchestras throughout Japan, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra. As a composer his best-known work was “Rhapsody for Orchestra,” based on Japanese folk songs. He won the Suntory Music Award in 1982.
To see the full list, go to: www.grammy.com/news/in-memoriam-2024-recording-academy-remembers-music-people-lost