See the alumni and faculty below who we’re so proud to see on the list. The 66th GRAMMY Awards® will air live Sunday, February 4, 2024 on CBS television and will stream on Paramount+.
Samara Joy ’21
For Best Jazz Performance, Samara Joy (Jazz Studies) received a nomination for her new single “Tight.” The recording is a studio version of a fan-favorite she often performs live. Joy self-produced and recorded the song at New York’s legendary Electric Lady Studios.
Joy won two GRAMMY’s last year—Best New Artist and Best New Jazz Vocal Album for Linger Awhile. Fun fact—before the awards were announced, the odds of Joy winning were 25-1. Online betting sites had her listed ninth out of ten nominees.
Kendric McCallister ’17–’20
Musician and arranger Kendric McCallister (Jazz Studies) received a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for his work on Samara Joy’s “Lush Life”
After Joy’s GRAMMY wins, Verve records released a deluxe version of Linger Awhile with eight new recordings, one of which was “Lush Life.”
“The Amazon edition closes with a stunning rendition of ‘Lush Life,’ Her debt to Vaughan is apparent, but there is so much more to her style. Like “Round Midnight,” the arrangement here includes a horn section. It hints at an exciting future possibility of Joy recording a full album with a big band.”
Producer, songwriter, and recording artist RIOTUSA (Communications) earned nominations in two songwriting categories, Best Rap Song and Best Song Written For Visual Media for “Barbie World” from BarbieThe Album. RIOT (aka Ephrem Louis Lopez, Jr.) co-wrote the song with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (aka Isis Gaston), whom he met while at Purchase.
While Ice Spice’s time at Purchase was limited, their friendship formed here and the two began collaborating not long after. Read more about RIOTUSA and his global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music.
Ice Spice shares the Best Rap Song and Best Song Written For Visual Media with RIOT. She’s also on the list for the coveted award, Best New Artist, and for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Karma,” her collaboration with Taylor Swift.
Nicole Zuraitis
Nicole Zuraitis, Lecturer of Jazz Studies, Voice, received the Best Jazz Vocal Album nomination for How Love Begins.
Zuraitis is a GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist and arranger, New York-based bandleader, and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. Zuraitis’ arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” co-written with renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY®.
“Nicole Zuraitis—a first-rate songwriter, powerhouse vocalist and grade-A pianist—proves to be an expert cartographer, mapping out every detail, nuance and shade of emotion surrounding the arc of a relationship.”
Assistant Professor of Music Silas Brown ’10 (Studio Production) earned two nominations for engineering and producing respectively.
First, for Best Engineered Album, Classical (An Engineer’s Award) for Contemporary American Composers (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra), with engineers David Frost and Charlie Post and Brown as mastering engineer.
The Best Classical Compendium awards the artists, album producers, and engineers. Brown and Mark Dover were producers of Passion For Bach And Coltrane featuring Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith, and A.B. Spellman.
Brown is a New York City area producer, engineer, and mastering engineer specializing in classical and jazz recordings. He has more than 20 years of production credits, including many GRAMMY-winning and nominated recordings, including a 2014 Grammy as producer of the Evelyn Glennie / Albany Symphony recording of Corigliano’s Conjurer (Best Soloist Performance with Orchestra) and in 2011 as mastering engineer on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Verdi Requiem recording (Best Classical Album). In 2017, he was nominated in the Best Engineered Album, Classical category for Shadow of Sirius.
Credits List
Best Jazz Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative jazz recordings.
“Tight” Samara Joy
Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“Barbie World” [From BarbieThe Album] Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez, Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters
(Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
Best Song Written For Visual Media
A Songwriter(s) award. For a song (melody & lyrics) written specifically for a motion picture, television, video games or other visual media, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
“Barbie World” [From Barbie The Album] Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez, Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters
(Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
Best New Artist
This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
Ice Spice
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.
“Karma”
Taylor Swift Featuring Ice Spice
Best Jazz Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal jazz recordings.
How Love Begins Nicole Zuraitis
Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
Contemporary American Composers
David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 50% playing time of the album, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) with over 50% playing time of a world premiere recording only.
Passion For Bach And Coltrane
Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith & A.B. Spellman; Silas Brown and Mark Dover, producers
