A&E

Latin jazz back in Grammys but no Cajun, zydeco

by Dominick Cross

The Recording Academy announced Friday that the upcoming Grammys will have 81 categories, three more than the 78 it had last year after being cut from 109 to 78. Along with Latin jazz, best urban contemporary and best classical compendium are now categories.

Sometimes you just have to blow your own horn to the tune of litigation and that's what the Latin jazz community did recently and got reinstated as a category in the Recording Academy's Grammy Awards.

The Recording Academy announced Friday that the upcoming Grammys will have 81 categories, three more than the 78 it had last year after being cut from 109 to 78. Along with Latin jazz, best urban contemporary and best classical compendium are now categories.

Still on the outs, however, are Cajun and zydeco, whose combined category was one of the 30 dropped last year after getting its own classification in 2007.

South Louisiana's indigenous music, among other genres, was downsized in 2011 in an effort to make the awards more competitive. Categories were eliminated by sex as well so that now men and women compete in the same vocal categories. It also sliced niche fields and created broader ones.

Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon and Bill Cosby, among others, complained about the changes with Simon reportedly doing so on behalf of Cajun and zydeco, too.

When the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album came into being in 2008, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience won the award. That honor was subsequently followed by BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Buckweat Zydeco, and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band.

Now Cajun and zydeco are categorized under the Best Regional Roots Music Album, which includes Hawaiian, brass bands and polka music.

The question now is will Cajun and zydeco supporters who are voters in the Recording Academy make some noise to get their category back?