Saxophonist Wayne Shorter's 'Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival' gets 2 Grammy nominations

Detroit played a role in Tuesday's Grammy nominations, with four mentions in the jazz categories.

Bassist, bandleader and Ferndale native Ron Carter, 85, was nominated along with the Jazzaar Festival Big Band directed by Christian Jacob for “Remembering Bob Freedman” in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category. Carter, 85, is one of the genre’s most revered living figures; last month, PBS premiered a documentary about his life and work.

More:Most recorded jazz bassist in history, a Detroit-area native, subject of PBS doc

“In good company yet again,” Carter wrote in a Facebook post after the nominations were announced.

Recognition was also given to another living legend, saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, for his “Live at the Detroit Jazz Festival,” a recording of his set during the annual event’s 2017 entry released this fall. Shorter, alongside drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Esperanza Spalding and pianist Leo Genovese, received a Best Jazz Instrumental Album nomination. In the performance, Genovese filled in for beloved Detroit pianist Geri Allen, who died of cancer a few months prior to the festival.

Shorter and Genovese are also nominated in the Best Improvised Jazz Solo category for their work on the track “Endangered Species.”

Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation President and Artistic Director Chris Collins recalled the day the album was recorded.

“I remember that beautiful night in 2017 at the Detroit Jazz Festival,” he said. “Like many momentous events, the vibe was heavy. There was reverence for the master Wayne. There was sadness for the recent passing of Detroit icon Geri Allen, who was scheduled to be on the set. And there was joy as this family of artists gathered onstage in celebration of Wayne, Geri’s legacy and the beauty inspired by the unique intersection of their individual lives and artistry.

“The result was an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime set shaped by intuitive spontaneity, infused with love and embraced by the special audience and spirit of the Detroit Jazz Festival.”

Drummer Carrington, who serves as artistic director for Detroit’s Carr Center, also has a second nomination in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category, for her “New Standards Vol. 1,” a tribute to female musicians and songwriters in jazz. She shares that nomination with pianist Kris Davis, bassist Linda May Han Oh, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and guitarist Matthew Stevens.

The 65th annual Grammy Awards will be presented Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.