Berklee Alumni and Faculty Win at the 2023 Grammy Awards

Multiple Berklee alumni and faculty won gold-plated gramophones at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, held last night on Sunday, February 5, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Terri Lyne Carrington, founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, won her fourth Grammy, in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category, for the star-studded recording New Standards Vol. 1, which features Berklee faculty Linda May Han Oh on bass and acclaimed pianist and composer Kris Davis. Matthew Stevens B.M. ’04, an associate professor in the Ensemble and Guitar departments, coproduced the album with Carrington, who also received a nomination for Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival in the same category.

Watch Terri Lyne Carrington's acceptance speech: 

Earlier last week, Carrington was honored, alongside Judith Sherman, by the Recording Academy Producers and Engineers Wing for her accomplishments as a pioneering woman in jazz music. Carrington also performed on drums and gave remarks at the event, which took place at the Village Studios in Los Angeles.

Emerson Mancini B.M. ’08 won in the Record of the Year category for their work as a mastering engineer on Lizzo’s song “About Damn Time.” Mancini also earned a nomination in the same category for “The Heart Part 5" by Kendrick Lamar. Songwriter Amy Allen ’15 picked up a Grammy for her work on Harry Styles's Harry’s House, which won Album of the Year. Matt Schaeffer ’12 took home the Grammy for his role as a songwriter on Lamar's “The Heart Part 5," which won for Best Rap Song. American Roots Music Program alumna Molly Tuttle ’14 and her band Golden Highway, which includes Bronwyn Keith-Hynes ’12, Dominick Leslie ’10, and Kyle Tuttle ’11, won their first Grammy Award, in the category of Best Bluegrass Album, for their critically acclaimed project Crooked Tree. 

Steven Feifke, an assistant professor in Berklee’s Ensemble and Harmony and Jazz Composition departments and an award-winning bandleader, composer, and arranger, received his first Grammy, in the category of Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, for Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra featuring veteran trumpeter and educator Bijon Watson.

Other alumni who contributed to Grammy-winning projects include Bob Reynolds B.M. ’00, Keita Ogawa ’07, and Marcelo Woloski B.M. ’07, who played on Snarky Puppy's Empire Central, which won Best Contemporary Instrumental Album; Fred Eltringham ’94, who played drums and percussion on Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde's "Never Wanted to Be That Girl," which won Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and on Willie Nelson's A Beautiful Time, which won Best Country Album; Nadeem Majdalany ’06, for playing ngoni and percussion on Masa Takumi's Sakura, which won Best Global Music Album; Oscar Zambrano B.M. ’03, for his work as a mastering engineer on Into the Woods, which won Best Musical Theater Album; Reto Peter B.M. ’97 worked as a mixer for The Movement by Alphabet Rockers, which won Best Children’s Music Album; and Alvin Wee B.M. '13, who worked as a score mixer on Encanto, which won Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Includes Film and Television).

Berklee's list of official alumni and faculty Grammy winners is below. This list is subject to change as winners are verified with the Recording Academy. 

Record of the Year 

• "About Damn Time," Lizzo
  • Emerson Mancini B.M. ’08, mastering engineer

Album of the Year 

• Harry's House, Harry Styles 
  • Amy Allen ’15, songwriter

Best Rap Song 

• "The Heart Part 5," Kendrick Lamar 
  • Matt Schaeffer ’12, songwriter

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

• "Endangered Species," Wayne Shorter and Leo Genovese
  • Leo Genovese ’04, piano 

Best Jazz Instrumental Album  

• New Standards Vol. 1, Terri Lyne Carrington
  • Terri Lyne Carrington B.M. ’83, drums and production 
  • Matthew Stevens B.M. ’04, guitar and production 
  • Kris Davis, piano (faculty) 
  • Linda May Han Oh, bass (faculty) 

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

• Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, Steven Feifke, Bijon Watson, Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra
  • Steven Feifke, faculty

Best Bluegrass Album

• Crooked Tree, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
  • Molly Tuttle A.D. ’14
  • Dominick Leslie ’10

Best Regional Roots Music Album

• Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Ranky Tanky 
  • Charlton Singleton ’89, trumpet 
  • Cole Anderson ’19, recording engineer 

Best Instrumental Composition

• “Refuge,” Geoffrey Keezer
  • Geoffrey Keezer '89, composer