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…
Jon Batiste’s We Are garnered 12 Grammy nominations.
(Photo: Verve)The Recording Academy has announced the nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards. While there are plenty of potential winners in a variety of music genres, we’ll focus on those earned by jazz, blues and selected “beyond” artists. Jazz pianist Jon Batiste led the list with 12 nominations, including Album of the Year and Best R&B album for We Are, Record of the Year for “Freedom” and Best Traditional R&B Performance for “I Need You.”
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga’s six nominations included Album of the Year and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Love For Sale and Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “I Get A Kick Out Of You.”
Here are more nominations involving artists who are near and dear to the DownBeat crew:
BEST IMPROVISED JAZZ SOLO
“Sackodougou”
Soloist: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
The Hands Of Time (Weedie Braimah)
“Kick Those Feet”
Soloist: Kenny Barron
Songs From My Father (Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios)
“Bigger Than Us
Soloist: Jon Batiste
Soul (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Various Artists)
“Absence”
Soloist: Terence Blanchard
Absence (Terence Blanchard Featuring The E Collective And The Turtle Island Quartet)
“Humpty Dumpty” (Set 2)
Soloist: Chick Corea
Akoustic Band Live (Chick Corea, John Patitucci & Dave Weckl)
BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM
Generations
The Baylor Project
SuperBlue
Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter
Time Traveler
Nnenna Freelon
Flor
Gretchen Parlato
Songwrights Apothecary Lab
Esperanza Spalding
BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
Jazz Selections: Music From And Inspired By Soul
Jon Batiste
Absence
Terence Blanchard Featuring The E Collective And The Turtle Island Quartet
Skyline
Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Akoustic Band LIVE
Chick Corea, John Patitucci & Dave Weckl
Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
Pat Metheny
BEST LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE ALBUM
Live At Birdland!
The Count Basie Orchestra Directed By Scotty Barnhart
Dear Love
Jazzmeia Horn And Her Noble Force
For Jimmy, Wes And Oliver
Christian McBride Big Band
Swirling
Sun Ra Arkestra
Jackets XL
Yellowjackets + WDR Big Band
BEST LATIN JAZZ ALBUM
Mirror Mirror
Eliane Elias with Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés
The South Bronx Story
Carlos Henriquez
Virtual Birdland
Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
Transparency
Dafnis Prieto Sextet
El Arte Del Bolero
Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo
BEST CONTEMPORARY INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
Double Dealin’
Randy Brecker & Eric Marienthal
The Garden
Rachel Eckroth
Tree Falls
Taylor Eigsti
At Blue Note Tokyo
Steve Gadd Band
Deep: The Baritone Sessions, Vol. 2
Mark Lettieri
BEST TRADITIONAL BLUES ALBUM
100 Years Of Blues
Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite
Traveler’s Blues
Blues Traveler
I Be Trying
Cedric Burnside
Be Ready When I Call You
Guy Davis
Take Me Back
Kim Wilson
BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES ALBUM
Delta Kream
The Black Keys Featuring Eric Deaton & Kenny Brown
Royal Tea
Joe Bonamassa
Uncivil War
Shemekia Copeland
Fire It Up
Steve Cropper
662
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
BEST AMERICAN ROOTS PERFORMANCE
“Cry”
Jon Batiste
“Love And Regret”
Billy Strings
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free”
The Blind Boys Of Alabama & Béla Fleck
“Same Devil”
Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile
“Nightflyer”
Allison Russell
BEST AMERICAN ROOTS SONG
“Avalon”
Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson & Francesco Turrisi, songwriters (Rhiannon Giddens With Francesco Turrisi)
“Call Me A Fool”
Valerie June, songwriter (Valerie June Featuring Carla Thomas)
“Cry”
Jon Batiste & Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
“Diamond Studded Shoes”
Dan Auerbach, Natalie Hemby, Aaron Lee Tasjan & Yola, songwriters (Yola)
“Nightflyer”
Jeremy Lindsay & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)
BEST BLUEGRASS ALBUM
Renewal
Billy Strings
My Bluegrass Heart
Béla Fleck
A Tribute To Bill Monroe
The Infamous Stringdusters
Cuttin’ Grass - Vol. 1 (Butcher Shoppe Sessions)
Sturgill Simpson
Music Is What I See
Rhonda Vincent
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…
