Wayne Shorter Takes Two Grammys
Randy and Michael Brecker, Dianne Reeves, Michel Camilo Also Winners
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8, 2004 — Legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter took home statuettes in two categories at Sunday's 46th Annual Grammy Awards.
Shorter's first acoustic studio album in three decades, Alegría (Verve Records), featured not only his working quartet — Danilo Perez on piano, Brian Blade on drums, and John Patitucci on bass — but also ensembles with English horn, bassoon and cello. Alegría was chosen Best Jazz Instrumental Album, and Shorter also won the award for Best Instrumental Composition for the album's opening track, "Sacajawea". Shorter has won six previous Grammys, including one with Weather Report.
Trumpeter Randy Brecker's 34th N Lex, which featured both a live rhythm section and drum machines, as well his brother Michael, David Sanborn, and Ronnie Cuber on saxophones, was chosen Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
A Little Moonlight (Blue Note), which backed Dianne Reeves with the trio of Peter Martin on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums, as well as guest Nicholas Payton on trumpet, was voted Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Pianist Michel Camilo's first live album, the two-CD Live At The Blue Note (Telarc) with bassist Charles Flores and drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, was the winner for Best Latin Jazz Album.
The Michael Brecker Quindectet's Wide Angles (Verve Records) featured the saxophonist set in lush string and horn arrangements, and was named Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Brecker and Gil Goldstein also won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Timbuktu" on that album.
Chick Corea received the award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for "Matrix" from his Grammy-nominated Rendezvous In New York (Stretch/Concord), on which he was joined by bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Roy Haynes, with whom he had first recorded the song in 1968.
Jazz legends Sonny Rollins and Artie Shaw received Lifetime Achievement Awards. Tenor saxophonist Rollins gained early notoriety as the featured saxophonist in the Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet, and has recorded and performed as a leader in six different decades. Clarinetist and band leader Shaw had his heyday from the late 1930's until the early 1950's, and had several hits, including his biggest, Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine." Shaw retired at what he agreed was his "peak", in 1954.
Pianist Marian McPartland and jazz producer Orrin Keepnews each won Trustees Awards, which are presented the Recording Academy's National Trustees to individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording. In addition to a performing career spanning seven decades, McPartland was honored for her work in education, and for her long-running NPR program, Piano Jazz With Marian McPartland. Keepnews, who founded both Riverside and Milestone Records, has been producing jazz recordings for more than 50 years. He has been active in the Recording Academy, holding office as vice chairman of its board of trustees in the early '90s and now as co-chair of its national awards and nominations committee.
Primetime performances featuring jazz musicians were in supporting roles. Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval played a solo and did some call and response with Justin Timberlake, and Chick Corea performed with the rock group Foo Fighters. 
