Berklee Alumni Nominated for Grammy Awards in 2016
Charlie Puth '13, nominated for three awards, being interviewed by Livingston Taylor in August 2015 at the Berklee Performance Center.
Dave Green
Berklee alumni could take home 23 Grammy Awards at the 58th annual music awards ceremony on Monday, February 15, 2016. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominated 18 alumni for the 23 awards. For the fifth year in a row, Berklee alumni are nominated in the top three categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year. Berklee alumni nominated in the top three categories are being recognized for their work on various chart-toppers, including Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” (nods go to producer Jeff Bhasker '99 and engineer/mixer Josh Blair '99) and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (Anna Wise '10 was a featured artist on the album and cowrote some tracks, and Matt Schaeffer '12 engineered and mixed the album). Charlie Puth '13 cowrote and sang on the mega-hit “See you Again” with Wiz Khalifa.
Berklee visiting scholar Terence Blanchard, who teaches at Berklee for one week each month, was also nominated for an award. His album Breathless is up for the Best Jazz Instrumental Album award. Marshall Gilkes(Opens in a new window), assistant professor in the Brass Department, is up for two awards, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and Best Instrumental Composition for his album, Köln, and the track, "Vesper," respectively. Meghan Trainor, who attended Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program, a program for high school students, is nominated for Best New Artist.
Berklee alumni also contributed to a number of nominated performances, tracks, and albums. Roy Hargrove '89 played trumpet on D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s album Black Messiah. The album is nominated for a Best R&B Album award, with the track “Really Love” nominated for Record of the Year. Greg Gisbert '85, Lage Lund '00, Donny McCaslin '88, and Scott Robinson '81 performed on the Maria Schneider Orchestra’s The Thompson Fields, nominated for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Gisbert, McCaslin, and Robinson also performed on the Gil Evans Project’s Lines of Color, which is also up for a Best Large Jazz Ensemble award. Hamilton is nominated for the Best Musical Theater Album award. In addition to nominees Jasmine Cephas Jones '09 and Alex Lacamoire '95, three Berklee alumni contributed to the nominated work: Richard Hammond '98, pit bassist; Robin Macatangay '88, pit guitarist; Will Wells '11, production, loop, and drum sample editing. Christophe Chagnard '89 wrote a piece produced by Marina and Victor Ledin, who are nominated for Producer of the Year, Classical.
A number of Berklee alumni engineered and/or mixed nominated works. Martin Nessi '10 was a mixing and recording engineer on Josh Groban's "Stages," nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Richard Furch '99 was an engineer on Charlie Wilson's Forever Charlie, nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance, as well as Tyrese Gibson's "Shame," nominated for Best Traditional R&B Performance as well as Best R&B Song. Bart Migal '99 engineered Björk's Vulnicura, up for the Best Alternative Music Award, as well as the broadway album Fun Home, nominated for Best Musical Theater Album. Enrique Larreal '04 engineered A Quien Quiera Escuchar (Deluxe Edition) by Ricky Martin, nominated for Best Latin Pop Album.
The 58th annual Grammy Awards will be held on Monday, February 15, and will be broadcast on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET.
A full list of Berklee alumni Grammy Award nominees follows.
Category 1 – Record of the Year
“Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars) – Jeff Bhasker '99, producer
“Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars) – Josh Blair '99, engineer/mixer
Category 2 – Album of the Year
To Pimp a Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar) – Anna Wise '10, featured artist
To Pimp a Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar) – Matt Schaeffer '12, engineer/mixer
Category 3 – Song of the Year
"See You Again" – (Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth) – Charlie Puth '13, songwriter
Category 6 – Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
"See You Again" – (Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth) – Charlie Puth '13, featured artist
Category 9 – Best Dance Recording
"We're All We Need" (Above & Beyond, featuring Zöe Johnston) – Andrew Bayer '09, producer
Category 11 – Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
Guitar in the Space Age! (Bill Frisell) – Bill Frisell '78
Category 18 – Best Traditional R&B Performance
"Little Ghetto Boy" (Lalah Hathaway) – Lalah Hathaway '94
Category 23 – Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
"These Walls" (Kendrick Lamar featuring Bilal, Anna Wise, and Thundercat) – Anna Wise '10, featured artist
Category 31 – Best Improvised Jazz Solo
"Past Present" (John Scofield) – John Scofield '73, soloist
"Arbiters of Evolution" (Maria Schneider Orchestra) - Donny McCaslin '88, soloist
Category 33 – Best Jazz Instrumental Album
Past Present (John Scofield) – John Scofield '73
Category 35 – Best Latin Jazz Album
Identities are Changeable (Miguel Zenón) – Miguel Zenón '98
Category 36 – Best Gospel Performance/Song
"How Awesome is Our God [Live]" (Israel and Newbreed featuring Yolanda Adams) – Justin Raines '06, bassist and member of Newbreed
Category 44 – Best Tropical Latin Album
Todo Tiene Su Hora – Juan Luis Guerra '83
Category 57 – Best Musical Theater Album
Hamilton – Jasmine Cephas Jones '09, principal soloist
Hamilton – Alex Lacamoire '95, producer
Category 59 – Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Birdman (Antonio Sánchez) – Antonio Sánchez '97, composer
Category 60 – Best Song Written for Visual Media
"See You Again" (Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth) – Charlie Puth '13, songwriter
Category 62 – Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
"Ghost of a Chance" (Bob James) – Bob James '59, arranger
Category 69 – Producer of the Year
Jeff Bhasker '99 – Nominated for the following works: "Ain't Gonna Drown," "Burning Doves," "Burning House," Grand Romantic, "Last Damn Night," "Never Let You Down," "Runaway Train," and Uptown Special.
Category 72 – Best Engineered Album, Classical
Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil – Byeong Joon Hwang '99, engineer
Liz Lupton is a manager of media relations. Media inquiries: llupton@berklee.edu.