Did you know?: In addition to Best Jazz Vocal Album, Spalding picked up Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) honors for “City Of Roses” with her mentor, trumpeter Thara Memory, at the 55th GRAMMYs. The song, which is a tribute to Spalding and Memory’s hometown, Portland, Ore., is featured on Spalding’s Top 10 album, 2012’s Radio Music Society. The album was co-produced by Dan Hallas, Zulema Mejias, Q-Tip, and Spalding and features collaborations with Joe Lovano and Lalah Hathaway, among others. The DVD edition of Radio Music Society was nominated for Best Long Form Music Video. Spalding was voted Best New Artist at the 53rd GRAMMY Awards. Spalding will kick off a world tour on March 13 in Singapore with dates scheduled through August.
Joe Williams, holding the Grammy Award he won in 1984.
The eldest surviving member of a prolific Jazz musician family which included the late drummer Elvin Jones and trumpeter/composer Thad Jones, Hank Jones continues the legacy by recording and playing at concerts and festivals around the world. As one of the few surviving Jazz greats photographed in ‘A Great Day in Harlem ‘, he has also participated in other historical events such as accompanying Marilyn Monroe when she sang ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’ to the late President John F. Kennedy.
Hank Jones was a prolific jazz pianist whose accessible playing style was adaptable to many genres. A 2009 Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, his career spanned more than 70 years and his dynamic resume includes recording, performing, and composing with such greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, and Benny Goodman, among others. The world has lost a true jazz icon, and his legacy leaves an indelible mark on the genre to which he contributed so much. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and fans who will forever appreciate his genius and skill.
