Unlike the New Orleans Saints in the NFL this year, Louisiana musicians did not dominate the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards; however, many Louisiana artists were up for nominations. Buckwheat Zydeco won in the Cajun/Zydeco category. CC Adcock, who was nominated for contributions to the True Blood soundtrack, got trumped by the Slumdog Millionaire juggernaut. Two New Orleans artists who did win Grammys for jazz music releases were Irvin Mayfield and Terence Blanchard. Mayfield’s New Orleans Jazz Orchestra won for best large jazz ensemble album of 2009. And fellow New Orleans trumpeter Blanchard won in the best improvised solo category. He was a featured player on Jeff “Tain” Watts’ 2009 album Watts.
These are the winners in the major categories at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards:
Record of the Year: “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
Album of the Year: “Fearless,” Taylor Swift
Song of the Year: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On it),” Beyonce Knowles
New Artist: Zac Brown Band
Pop Vocal Album: “The E.N.D.”, The Black Eyed Peas
Female Pop Vocal Performance: “Halo,” Beyonce Knowles
Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Make It Mine,” Jason Mraz
Rock Album: “21st Century Breakdown,” Green Day
Rock Song: “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
R&B Album: “BLACK summers’night,” Maxwell
R&B Song: “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Beyonce Knowles
Rap Album: “Relapse,” Eminem
Rap Song: “Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Run This Town,” Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West
Country Album: “Fearless,” Taylor Swift
Female Country Vocal Performance: “White Horse,” Taylor Swift
Male Country Vocal Performance: “Sweet Thing,” Keith Urban,
Latin Pop Album: “Sin Frenos,” La Quinta Estacion
Contemporary Jazz Album: “75,” Joe Zawinul & The Zawinul Syndicate
Classical Album: “Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio from Symphony No. 10”
Traditional Gospel Album: “Oh Happy Day,” various artists
Dance Recording: “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga
Electronic Dance Album: “The Fame,” Lady Gaga
Alternative Music Album: “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” Phoenix
Best Rock Instrumental Performance: “A Day In The Life,” Jeff Beck
Best Metal Performance: “Dissident Aggressor,” Judas Priest
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: “Ellipse,” Imogen Heap
Spoken Word Album: “Always Looking Up,” Michael J. Fox
Comedy Album: “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” Stephen Colbert
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: “Slumdog Millionaire,” Various Artists, A.R. Rahman, producer.