Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for 24 Grammy Awards

Nominees Include Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Joe Lovano, Juan Luis Guerra, and Tierney Sutton

Press Release by: Margot Edwards

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominated twenty Berklee alumni and three faculty members for a total of 24 Grammy Awards. The nominees were recognized for their outstanding contributions in a variety of categories, including pop, rock, hip-hop, jazz, Latin jazz, new age, songwriting, arranging, and film scoring. To date, Berklee alumni have won a total of 152 Grammy Awards. The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 10, 2008, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and broadcast on CBS at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

Crossing generational lines, two alumni spanning 50 years of the college’s history - Quincy Jones ‘51, and Andrew Dawson ‘01 - were nominated for their work on the blockbuster Kanye West album Graduation. Other nominees include John Mayer ‘98 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance; Diana Krall ‘83 for Album of the Year; Steve Vai ‘79 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance; Juan Luis Guerra ‘83 for Best Tropical Latin Album; Howard Shore ‘68 for Best Score Soundtrack Album, for The Departed; and Paul Winter Consort member Eugene Friesen, associate professor of strings, for New Age Album of the Year.

Mark Walker, associate professor of percussion, earned nominations in the categories Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Latin Jazz Album, as a member of the Paquito D’Rivera Quintet. Walker’s bandmates, Diego Urcola ‘90, Pernell Saturnino ‘95, Alon Yavnai ‘95, and Oscar Stagnaro, professor of bass, were also nominated. Other jazz and Latin jazz nominees include Jeff Lorber ‘71 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Tierney Sutton ‘87 for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Joe Lovano ‘72 (Gary Burton Jazz Chair at Berklee), for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, and Bobby Sanabria ‘79 for Best Latin Jazz Album.

A complete list of Berklee alumni nominees for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards follows. Note: Alumni names followed by class year.

Category 2 - Album Of The Year

• River: The Joni Letters Herbie Hancock, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza ‘88 & Tina Turner, featured artists; Herbie Hancock & Larry Klein, producers; Helik Hadar, engineer/mixer; Bernie Grundman, mastering engineer [Verve]

• These Days Vince Gill, John Anderson, Guy Clarke, Rodney Crowell, Diana Krall ‘83 & The Del McCoury Band, featured artists; Vince Gill, John Hobbs & Justin Niebank, producers; Neal Cappellino & Justin Niebank, engineers/mixers; Adam Ayan, mastering engineer [MCA Nashville]

• Graduation Kanye West, Dwele, Lil Wayne, Mos Def & T-Pain, featured artists; Andrew Dawson ‘01, engineer/mixer [Roc-A-Fella Records]

Category 6 - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

• Belief John Mayer ‘98 Track from: The Village Sessions [Columbia/Aware]

Category 19 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance

• The Attitude Song Steve Vai ‘79 Track from: Sound Theories Vol. I & II [Epic/Red Ink]

Category 34 - Best Rap Song

• Good Life A. Davis, F. Najm, K. West, J. Ingram, Quincy Jones ‘51, songwriters (Kanye West Featuring T-Pain) Track from: Graduation [Roc-A-Fella; Publishers: Very Good Beats/Hip Hop Since 1978, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing, Yellow Brick Road Music/Eiseman Music]

Category 44 - Best New Age Album

• Crestone Paul Winter Consort (Eugene Friesen) [Living Music]

Category 45 - Best Contemporary Jazz Album

• He Had A Hat Jeff Lorber ‘71 [Blue Note]

Category 46 - Best Jazz Vocal Album

• On The Other Side Tierney Sutton ‘87 (Band) [Telarc Jazz]

Category 48 - Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group

• Kids: Live At Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola Joe Lovano ‘72 And Hank Jones [Blue Note]

Category 50 - Best Latin Jazz Album

• Funk Tango Paquito D’Rivera Quintet (Diego Urcola ‘90, Pernell Saturnino ‘95, Alon Yavnai ‘95, Oscar Stagnaro, Mark Walker) [Paquito Records]

• Big Band Urban Folktales Bobby Sanabria Big Band (Bobby Sanabria ‘79) [Jazzheads]

Category 59 - Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album

• No Hay Espacio Black:Guayaba (Carlos Colon ‘04) [Machete Music]

Category 61 - Best Tropical Latin Album

• La Llave De Mi Corazσn Juan Luis Guerra ‘83 [EMI Televisa]

Category 83 - Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media

• The Departed Howard Shore ‘68, composer [New Line Records]

Category 85 - Best Instrumental Composition

• Deep Six Mark Walker, composer (Oregon) Track from: 1000 Kilometers [CamJazz]

Category 86 - Best Instrumental Arrangement

• Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair Frank Macchia ‘80, arranger (Frank Macchia & The Prague Orchestra) Track from: Emotions [Cacophony]

Category 92 - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

• II Jason Lehning ‘94, engineer (Viktor Krauss) [Back Porch Records]

Category 108 - Best Classical Crossover Album

• A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane Turtle Island Quartet (Mads Tolling ‘03, Evan Price ‘96) [Telarc]

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