May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Cécile McLorin Salvant won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal album for For One To Love (Mack Avenue)
(Photo: Courtesy of the artist)Though the Grammy Awards telecast doesn’t start until tonight at 8 p.m. EST, the awards ceremony is well underway, and a handful of prominent jazz artists have already been declared winners.
Below is a list of the winners in the jazz category that have been announced so far. DownBeat will update this list as more results are announced, and we will have a full Grammy Awards ceremony recap posted later this week.
Best Jazz Vocal Album
Cécile McLorin Salvant, For One To Love (Mack Avenue)
Best Jazz Instrumental Album
John Scofield, Past Present (Impulse!)
Best Latin Jazz Album
Elian Elias, Made In Brazil (Concord)
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Maria Schneider, The Thompson Fields (ArtistShare)
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
Maria Schneider, “Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)” from The Thompson Fields (ArtistShare)
Best Album Notes
Joni Mitchell, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting To Be Danced (Elektra Catalog Group)
Best Instrumental Composition
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, “The Afro Latin Jazz Suite” from Cuba: The Conversation Continues (Motéma)
Best Improvised Jazz Solo
Christian McBride, “Cherokee” from Live At The Village Vanguard (Mack Avenue)
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Snarky Puppy and Metropole Orkest, Sylva (Impulse!)
Best Blues Album
Buddy Guy, Born To Play Guitar (RCA)
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
Antonio Sanchez, Birdman (Milan)
For a complete list of winners, visit the Grammy website.
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.
May 26, 2026 10:40 AM
Editor’s Note: The iconic trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis would have turned 100 today (May 26, 2026).…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…