The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is once again a prominent player on the nominee list for the annual Grammy Awards, to be presented live on Jan. 31 on CBS.
Grammy-winning trumpet player and Jacobs alumnus Chris Botti's In Boston release captured three nominations: Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Arrangement and Best Long Form Music Video. Botti has become the largest-selling American jazz instrumental artist, garnering numerous awards.
Fellow alumnus Booker T. Jones -- multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger -- vies for Best Pop Instrumental Album with his Potato Hole release, and its cut "Warped Sister" is a Best Rock Instrumental nominee. Jones has worked in the studio with some of the most renowned artists of our time, already earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
Former IU faculty member and past Grammy winner Paul Hillier is nominated for Best Small Ensemble Performance for conducting David Lang's The Little Match Girl Passion. The recording also features the Theatre of Voices ensemble, which Hillier founded in 1990.
Alumnus and pianist Jonathan Biss appears on Mozart: Piano Concertos 21 & 22, whose producer, David Frost, is nominated for Classical Producer of the Year.
Jacobs faculty member Leonard Slatkin conducts on two nominated recordings this year: Corigliano: A Dylan Thomas Trilogy, whose producer, Steven Epstein, is nominated for Classical Producer of the Year; and The Melody of Rhythm -- including Grammy-winning double bass player and alumnus Edgar Meyer -- which is up for Best Classical Crossover Album.
Another contender for Best Classical Crossover Album --Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace -- features a trio of Jacobs alumni guest artists: Botti, Meyer and bassist, composer and conductor John Clayton, a past Grammy winner.
Clayton and his brother Jeff's Brother To Brother recording received a nomination in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group category.
Alumnus Jerry Hey was co-arranger on Seal's "A Change Is Gonna Come" track and is up for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).
For more information about the Jacobs School of Music, see http://www.music.indiana.edu.
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