The 59th Grammy Awards were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 12. The jazz winners were announced in a pre-telecast ceremony.
Gregory Porter, who won the award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Take me to the Alley paid a brief tribute to the late vocalist Al Jarreau, whose death had been announced earlier that day.
Snarky Puppy picked up the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album award for Culcha Vulcha, the band’s first purely studio album in eight years.
Guitarist John Scofield, unable to attend, was awarded Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Country for Old Men and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for the track “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” from the same album.
The Ted Nash Big Band was awarded the Grammy for Best Large Ensemble Album for Presidential Suit: Eight Variations on Freedom. Nash’s composition “Spoken at Midnight” from the album was named Best Instrumental Composition.
Multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier also picked up two Grammys on the night: Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for “You and I” and Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for “Flintstones.” Both tracks are on his debut album In My Room.
Miles Ahead, the original motion picture soundtrack of the film directed by Don Cheadle based on the life of trumpeter Miles Davis, won the award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Visual Media. David Bowie’s last album Blackstar, featuring the Donny McCaslin Quartet, won awards for Best Recording Package and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.