2017 GRAMMY Camp — Jazz Session students

2017 GRAMMY Camp — Jazz Session students

Photo: Jerod Harris/WireImage.com

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GRAMMY Museum Announces 2018 GRAMMY Camp — Jazz Session Students

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Annual GRAMMY Camp program will allow 18 talented students the opportunity to record an album and perform at exclusive events during GRAMMY Week 2018
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Dec 8, 2017 - 3:35 pm

Music education will again be front and center at the 60th GRAMMY Awards thanks to the GRAMMY Museum's GRAMMY Camp — Jazz Session program.

On Dec. 8 the GRAMMY Museum announced today that 18 talented high school students from across the United States have been selected for the 2018 GRAMMY Camp — Jazz Session. The students, representing 18 cities in nine states, will travel to New York City for a seven-day musical adventure under the direction of Justin DiCioccio.

The selected students perform at various GRAMMY Week events, including GRAMMY In The Schools Live! on Jan. 25, 2018, at The Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/JM Kaplan Hall at The New School in New York, the official MusiCares Person of the Year after-party celebration honoring Fleetwood Mac at the GRAMMY Celebration after-party. On Jan. 27, courtesy of The Power Station at BerkleeNYC, the young musicians will also record an album (GRAMMY Jazz 26) at the legendary New York facility. Students will also have the chance to attend the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

"We are very excited to hold GRAMMY Camp—Jazz Session in New York City this year and to showcase the talents of these high school instrumentalists in venues throughout Manhattan during GRAMMY Week," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy and Chair of the Board of the GRAMMY Museum. "This program will provide students with unparalleled opportunities to rehearse, record, and perform with their fellow Jazz Session members. It will foster collaborative skills that are necessary for successful careers in any field—and are especially useful if these young people pursue professional paths in the music industry."

The 60th GRAMMY Awards will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 28, 2018, airing live on CBS from 7:30–11 p.m. ET/4:30–8 p.m. PT.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Photo: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

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"Dear Evan Hansen" Producers On Winning A GRAMMY In New York

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The creatives behind the hit musical detail their path from the idea stage to Broadway to Music's Biggest Night
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Feb 2, 2018 - 12:00 pm

If you haven't seen "Dear Evan Hansen," given the show's win at the 60th GRAMMY Awards in New York, now is the perfect time to look into checking out the hit Broadway musical.

"Dear Evan Hansen" One-On-One: 2018 GRAMMYs

Written by composers/lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and produced by orchestrater Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Pasek, and Paul, "Dear Evan Hansen" explores the struggle of social anxiety.

"It's about a young man who feels incredibly isolated and alone in his world," producer Pasek explained backstage at the 60th GRAMMYs. "And through a series of events he is believed to have been the best friend of a kid who just passed away and he basically [helps] a grieving family make them think that he was actually best friends with their son who has recently been deceased. His whole life changes as a result and the question is whether or not he should come clean and how his life changes because of this lie."

"Dear Evan Hansen" opened on Broadway in 2016 following a premiere at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2015. For the creators of the show, getting the musical from the conceptual stage all the way to Broadway was a collaborative process.

"The songs are created along with the rest of the show, so we really worked in tandem with our book writer Steven Levenson on this project. We developed these characters and this storyline all together. Then Michael Greif our director," said Paul. "We sit in a room for a long time and come up with it all together. We bring in our music team, Alex Lacamorie and the rest of them. It's an amazing sort of journey where you keep picking up more incredible, wonderful people all along the way as you create this show from scratch and then get it up, workshopped, up on its feet and finally, eventually, thankfully on Broadway."

"Dear Evan Hansen" has earned critical acclaim since its opening. The show took home six Tony Awards, including Best Musical in 2017, and Ben Platt's role as the lead garnered him a Best Performance by an Actor Tony Award. Now the creators and Platt have added a GRAMMY to the list of the musical's accolades, having earned the GRAMMY for Best Musical Theater Album this year.

Pasek and Paul couldn't wait to share their GRAMMY success with the rest of the cast and crew of the show, especially because Music's Biggest Night was celebrated right in the musical's hometown.

"It is really cool that our show is playing just up the street and then we get to celebrate this with our whole cast," Pasek said. "They're just finishing a matinee performance right now so I think they're going to come down and find out they're all GRAMMY winners at the end of it, which is a very, very cool thing. And to have it be in New York and to celebrate that energy that Broadway's so vital in, it's a very exciting thing for us."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Ledisi

Ledisi

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Ledisi On Why She Celebrates Black History Month Year-Round

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The GRAMMY nominee lets us in on why celebrating the culture of African-Americans is so important
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Feb 1, 2018 - 5:27 pm

Feb. 1 marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time to celebrate the many significant — and often overlooked — contributions that African-Americans have made to the fabric of our country, including in the arts.

Ledisi On Why Black History Month Matters

African-Americans have long since been integral to music, whether it's jazz, R&B, hip-hop, rock and roll, or the undeniable influences of all of these genres that have found their way into pop, rock and even country music. Think of greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and contemporary movers and shakers like Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, SZA, and Ledisi.

We caught up with the GRAMMY-nominated R&B singer/songwriter Ledisi at the Recording Academy Los Angeles Chapter's GRAMMY Nominees Reception to find out why it's so important to continue celebrating African-Americans in our country, and around the world. 

"I celebrate being black every single day. Every accomplishment I make is an honor of my ancestry, my parents, my walk, and my journey given to me in life," said Ledisi. "I think it's very important to celebrate my culture because we're in everything. We're in the makeup of everyone's lives whether they know it or not."

So this February, and all year long, let's celebrate the innumerable ways African-Americans enrich our culture.

"I love being black, I love being beautiful and I love my culture," she added. "We have to keep forwarding that."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Residente

Residente

Photo: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images

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Residente On The Process Of Recording His GRAMMY-Winning Album

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The GRAMMY winner details the meticulous process he used to create his self-titled award-winning solo album
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Feb 1, 2018 - 12:30 pm

He's earned three previous career GRAMMYs as a member of Calle 13 — and a record-setting 24 Latin GRAMMYs — but Residente earned his first solo GRAMMY win at the 60th GRAMMY Awards.

Residente's 2018 GRAMMYs One-On-One Interview

The Puerto Rican rapper earned a GRAMMY nomination for his 2017 self-titled debut solo album. With 13 tracks, including "Guerra," "Apocalíptico," "El Futuro Es Nuestro," and "Una Leyenda China," the album was inspired by a DNA test that showed Residente's heritage spanned 10 different countries. He set out to musically discover his heritage in the most authentic way.

"It took me two years to make the album," Residente told Ted Stryker backstage at the 60th GRAMMYs. "I traveled [to] 11 countries to make music. I went to Ghana and Siberia and Serbia and … China, Puerto Rico. … I needed voices from Africa and I went to Northern Ghana … to get those voices instead of making a sample or recording in New York."

The meticulous work resulted in an album, a Netflix documentary and a book of the same title to chronicle Residente's journey of self-discovery. And, the work paid off in the form of a GRAMMY win for Best Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album, whtop-sellingcated to other artists like himself out there in pursuit of true art.

Watch: Residente Wins Best Latin Urban Album

"It's sad to see how the music industry is becoming numbers," said Residente. "That has to change. I'm dedicating this to people who make real music because they really love it and they don't care about YouTube views, followers, Spotify spins, top-selling records, Top 20 on the radio. This is for all these people that make art and they love it."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Ledisi

Ledisi

Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images

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Diane Warren, Ledisi, Lisa Loeb & More Attend L.A. GRAMMY Nominee Reception

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Nominees from the Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter gathered to honor this year's nominees on Jan. 20
Renee Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jan 22, 2018 - 10:02 am

Boasting more than 250 60th GRAMMY Awards nominees, the Recording Academy's Los Angeles Chapter hosted a celebration brunch to remember on Jan. 20.

The event, which was held at Fig & Olive restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif., was attended by many GRAMMY nominees to celebrate their latest GRAMMY accomplishments.

Diane Warren, who is nominated this year as a songwriter for Common and Andra Day's "Stand Up For Something," was in attendance. Also out to celebrate was R&B singer/songwriter Ledisi, who is up for Best R&B Performance ("High"), Best Traditional R&B Performance ("All The Way") and Best R&B Album (Let Love Rule). Lisa Loeb, who is nominated for Best Children's Album for Feel What U Feel, and La La Land composer Justin Hurwitz, who is nominated for three GRAMMYs, also made appearances.

Best Reggae Album nominees Common Kings, production collective the Stereotypes (Bruno Mars) and many others were also on hand to toast fellow nominees.