Samara Joy, Nicole Zuraitis, Meshell Ndegeocello, Billy Childs, and Joni Mitchell were among the winners of the 66th annual Grammy Awards that took place in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Jon Batiste went home empty-handed after landing six nominations at this year’s Grammys, two years after he made a huge splash by winning five Grammys including album of the year in 2022.
However, awards season is far from over for Batiste, who recently earned another Oscar nomination for one of his songs from the documentary American Symphony.
The legendary Joni Mitchell won the award for best folk album for Joni Mitchell at Newport (Live). The recording captures Mitchell’s entire performance at the Newport Folk Festival on June 24, 2022, where she was joined by a group of musicians including Brandi Carlile, Wynonna Judd and Marcus Mumford. It was her first public performance since suffering an aneurysm in 2015.
“We had so much fun at that concert, and I think you can feel it on the record,” Mitchell said in her acceptance speech during the Grammys premiere ceremony Sunday afternoon.
Mitchell later returned to the Grammys’ main event stage to perform a stirring rendition of her classic song “Both Sides Now.” It was the first-ever Grammys performance for the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter, who has now won 10 Grammy Awards during her long, respected career.
The Grammy Award for best jazz performance went to Samara Joy for “Tight.” The singer won her first two Grammys, including best new artist, at last year’s awards.
The award for best vocal jazz album went to Nicole Zuraitis for How Love Begins, while the title of best instrumental jazz album went to Billy Childs for his latest effort The Winds of Change.
The inaugural Grammy Award for best alternative jazz album was given to Meshell Ndegeocello for The Omnichord Real Book. The new category, introduced this year, recognizes alternative jazz as “a genre-blending, envelope-pushing hybrid” that mixes jazz with other genres, including R&B, hip hop, classical, contemporary improvisation, experimental, pop, rap, electronic/dance music, and/or spoken word.
The Grammy Award for best large jazz ensemble went to Basie Swings the Blues by the Count Basie Orchestra, directed By Scotty Barnhart. The award for best Latin jazz album went to Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo’s El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2.
The trophy for best arrangement (instrument and vocals) went to Erin Bentlage, Jacob Collier, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick and Amanda Taylor for “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” by säje featuring Jacob Collier.
Rubén Blades’s Siembra: 45 Aniversario won the Grammy for best tropical Latin album.
Just minutes after she performed on the Peacock Theater stage during the ceremony, Laufey won best traditional pop vocal album for Bewitched.
Taylor Swift took home the Grammys’ biggest prize, with Midnights winning album of the year. With that record-breaking win, she made Grammys history as the first artist to win the category four times. Previously, she was tied with Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, and Stevie Wonder.
Among the other major winners were Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” for record of the year, Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” for song of the year, and Victoria Monét for best new artist.
