Apr 30, 2011 – Three weeks ago the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) announced that the Grammy 2012 awards would be much leaner – instead of 109 awards, 78 will be presented. It “isn’t about cutting,” said Neil Portnow, NARAS’s President and Chief Executive, “it’s about the way we present the awards.”
Between the categories affected, which include Native American and Hawaiian music, the Latin Jazz musicians have been the most vocal. Pianist and bandleader Eddie Palmieri, who helped to instate the Latin Grammy into the awards back in 1994, wrote an open letter on April 13, in which he said: “In 1993 I was appointed Governor of the New York Chapter of NARAS where I worked diligently to have the Latin Jazz category become recognized and it was with great happiness that I saw it come to fruition in 1994. And now it is with a heavy heart that I have seen its elimination and truly fear its slow and permanent extinction.”
According to five time Grammy nominee John Santos, who spoke on the Alma del Barrio radio show today, the biggest insult in the NARAS snub is the way the decision to drop the Latin Jazz category (as well as the others) came about. For a category to be part of the year’s Grammy awards it has to count with at least 25 submissions. “Latin Jazz has always had at least that many,” said Santos. Then, “decided behind closed doors,” he continued, “NARAS changed the number to 40 and eliminated, without sharing the information with the members of NARAS, every category that had not, in the past, counted with 40 submissions.”
Like Santos, other Latin Jazz Grammy winners and nominated musicians, like Paquito D’Rivera and Bobby Sanabria, have voiced their indignation and requested the support of the audience. “The decision has been made,” said Santos today, “so what we have left is the hope of a reaction to public outcry, the hope that NARAS will become concerned about the bad publicity that their decision can bring them along, and the hope that the pressure will move them to reinstate the Latin Jazz category.”
In a significant move, the Recording Musicians Association of Los Angeles (RMALA) Local 47 unanimously approved five days ago a resolution opposing NARAS changes to the Grammy awards. “It is our hope that other musician Unions will make similar statements soon,” added Santos.
What can the public do? The Latin Jazz musicians want you be involved. A website has been set up to keep track of any news related to the Latin Jazz Grammy (Click here). An online petition welcomes everybody to sign up in support of the reinstatement of the category (Click here). Individual e-mails to Portnow, respectfully requesting the reinstatement of the category, are encouraged to neil@grammy.com
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