On Wednesday April 6th, The National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences announced a “restructuring" of The Grammy Awards, a move that included the elimination of the Latin Jazz Grammy. This unfortunate decision undermines the integrity of Latin Jazz and disregards its importance as a major piece of the cultural landscape in the United States. I would encourage all LJC readers to protest this decision and demand that NARAS reinstate the Latin Jazz Grammy immediately—you can do this by sending an e-mail to NARAS President and CEO Neil Portnow here—[email protected] Get additional information and updates on LJC's Support Page For The Latin Jazz Grammy.
I've published my letter to Mr. Portnow below, sharing my thoughts on the issue.
Dear. Mr. Portnow:
I am writing in regards to your recent restructuring of the Grammys and the elimination of several awards, most specifically the Latin Jazz award. I'm shocked about the deletion of the Latin Jazz Award, and I'm appalled at the underlying message that you're sending about the value of this music. I question your motivations behind the changes, and your overall intentions in support of music. This is a shortsighted move that doesn't address the future of your organization and it certainly doesn't address the future of music. The Grammy Awards hold a good deal of influence over the music buying public, and in this instance, I feel that you're utilizing that power irresponsibly. I hope that you can reconsider your decision to remove the Latin Jazz Award from the Grammys.
The Latin Jazz Award was an important recognition that shined some much-deserved respect upon a very noble tradition. From the grand mambo big band tradition that developed in New York with Machito And His Afro-Cubans and Tito Puente to the descargas from Israel “Cachao" Lopez and Bebo Valdes in Cuba, this is music with a serious history. It's a reflection of Caribbean and South American identity in the United States that speaks volumes about the Latino experience. We're talking about a musical tradition that artistically describes the lineage of close to fifty million people in the United States—that's a significant percentage of the United States population that deserves a voice. It's a living musical tradition as well—Latin Jazz continues to evolve today with experienced artists such as Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Poncho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval upholding the music's long legacy and younger musicians like Bobby Sanabria, Arturo O'Farrill, John Santos, Dafnis Prieto, Gabriel Alegria, Pablo Aslan, and others leading the way into the future. The deletion of the Latin Jazz Award undermines the work of Latin Jazz musicians past and present, devalues the significance of the Latino population, and invalidates their artistic voice.
Your reasoning for the elimination of the Latin Jazz Award doesn't sit well with me. You stated on your website:
“Also the distinction between Latin and non-Latin jazz was restructured, largely due to the very low number of entries in the Latin jazz category; these entries will go to Vocal Album, Instrumental Album or Large Jazz Ensemble Album, depending upon content."
I find this hard to believe; the Latin Jazz world has experienced a drastic growth of musical output recently, with high quality recordings that have stretched the boundaries of the style. I'd be curious to see some numbers in this regard and do some comparison/contrast against the other jazz categories. Until I do see this evidence, I simply don't buy your reasoning. If there is a lack of entries into the Latin Jazz category, you shouldn't simply be shutting it down—you should recognize the importance of the style and make an effort to recruit Latin Jazz artists and their recordings into the awards process. As a responsible organization taking a role in shaping the music world, I see it as your duty to find ways to bring these artists into NARAS, help them build their careers, and encourage them to apply for the Grammy Awards. Instead, you're providing shallow reasoning for your actions without proof and giving up on a growing number of artists in the musical community.
You have presented a solution, but folding the Latin Jazz category into the remaining jazz categories simply doesn't work. First, Latin Jazz is a unique tradition that has evolved on its own terms. Despite its strong relationship to the traditional jazz world, Latin Jazz is far from a minor subset of jazz. Treating it in this way downplays all the struggles and triumphs of Latin Jazz musicians and marginalizes their contributions to the artistic world. Secondly, you're setting up Latin Jazz artists to fail in their attempts to gain Grammy recognition. If your reasoning holds water and only a small number of Latin Jazz recordings reach your voting process, what better chances are you giving them for recognition if you throw them into the vast waters of traditional jazz, fusion, smooth jazz, and more? It seems more like you're shuffling some music that you don't want to deal with under the carpet. Once again, I find your actions thoughtless and irresponsible, causing more harm than good.
I've thought long and hard about the impact of your decision, and for me, it comes down to the underlying goals of NARAS. On your website, you've stated:
“The Academy's mission statement is simple, but represents the heart and soul of the organization's efforts: to positively impact the lives of musicians, industry members and our society at large."
If this statement accurately describes The Recording Academy's mission, then I believe that your recent actions are leading the organization towards failure of its professional goals. The elimination of the Latin Jazz Award negatively impacts the lives of numerous musicians, robbing them of the high profile attention associated with The Grammy Awards. For better or worse, an endorsement from The Grammy Awards holds weight among the music buying public, and can significantly impact an artist's career. Latin Jazz artists won't get this opportunity now; you're hurting important artists and you're effectively hiding their music from the general public. This is an obscene abuse of the power and influence that you've amassed. Your actions simply support the interests of major labels, fueling the money machine behind pop culture. The elimination of the Latin Jazz Award is absolutely contrary to the core fundamentals behind your mission statement; I believe that you either need to change your current decisions or revise your mission statement.
I find your actions irresponsible, your intensions questionable, and your integrity compromised, forcing me into some tough decisions. If you continue with your current plan of action—eliminating the Latin Jazz Award—I'll have no choice but to take a few actions of my own. As a journalist, I'll feel a professional obligation to encourage my readers to ban The Grammy Awards show and disregard the value of an endorsement from the awards. As an educator, I'll feel responsible to teach my students about the thinly veiled corrupt business aesthetics that drive the award choices and encourage them to look elsewhere for quality music recommendations. As a member of the Latin Jazz musical community, I'll stop interactions with NARAS and support my peers in alternate forms of recognition. This is not really a path that I would like to pursue, but one that I'm certainly willing to walk down.
Again, I hope that you will reconsider your choice to eliminate the Latin Jazz Grammy Award. I think that this can be the beginning of the conversation and not the end—I would like to feel good about knowing that The Grammy Awards do signify musical excellence. Unfortunately, I currently can't say that I believe this.
Sincerely,
Chip Boaz
I've published my letter to Mr. Portnow below, sharing my thoughts on the issue.
Dear. Mr. Portnow:
I am writing in regards to your recent restructuring of the Grammys and the elimination of several awards, most specifically the Latin Jazz award. I'm shocked about the deletion of the Latin Jazz Award, and I'm appalled at the underlying message that you're sending about the value of this music. I question your motivations behind the changes, and your overall intentions in support of music. This is a shortsighted move that doesn't address the future of your organization and it certainly doesn't address the future of music. The Grammy Awards hold a good deal of influence over the music buying public, and in this instance, I feel that you're utilizing that power irresponsibly. I hope that you can reconsider your decision to remove the Latin Jazz Award from the Grammys.
The Latin Jazz Award was an important recognition that shined some much-deserved respect upon a very noble tradition. From the grand mambo big band tradition that developed in New York with Machito And His Afro-Cubans and Tito Puente to the descargas from Israel “Cachao" Lopez and Bebo Valdes in Cuba, this is music with a serious history. It's a reflection of Caribbean and South American identity in the United States that speaks volumes about the Latino experience. We're talking about a musical tradition that artistically describes the lineage of close to fifty million people in the United States—that's a significant percentage of the United States population that deserves a voice. It's a living musical tradition as well—Latin Jazz continues to evolve today with experienced artists such as Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Poncho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval upholding the music's long legacy and younger musicians like Bobby Sanabria, Arturo O'Farrill, John Santos, Dafnis Prieto, Gabriel Alegria, Pablo Aslan, and others leading the way into the future. The deletion of the Latin Jazz Award undermines the work of Latin Jazz musicians past and present, devalues the significance of the Latino population, and invalidates their artistic voice.
Your reasoning for the elimination of the Latin Jazz Award doesn't sit well with me. You stated on your website:
“Also the distinction between Latin and non-Latin jazz was restructured, largely due to the very low number of entries in the Latin jazz category; these entries will go to Vocal Album, Instrumental Album or Large Jazz Ensemble Album, depending upon content."
I find this hard to believe; the Latin Jazz world has experienced a drastic growth of musical output recently, with high quality recordings that have stretched the boundaries of the style. I'd be curious to see some numbers in this regard and do some comparison/contrast against the other jazz categories. Until I do see this evidence, I simply don't buy your reasoning. If there is a lack of entries into the Latin Jazz category, you shouldn't simply be shutting it down—you should recognize the importance of the style and make an effort to recruit Latin Jazz artists and their recordings into the awards process. As a responsible organization taking a role in shaping the music world, I see it as your duty to find ways to bring these artists into NARAS, help them build their careers, and encourage them to apply for the Grammy Awards. Instead, you're providing shallow reasoning for your actions without proof and giving up on a growing number of artists in the musical community.
You have presented a solution, but folding the Latin Jazz category into the remaining jazz categories simply doesn't work. First, Latin Jazz is a unique tradition that has evolved on its own terms. Despite its strong relationship to the traditional jazz world, Latin Jazz is far from a minor subset of jazz. Treating it in this way downplays all the struggles and triumphs of Latin Jazz musicians and marginalizes their contributions to the artistic world. Secondly, you're setting up Latin Jazz artists to fail in their attempts to gain Grammy recognition. If your reasoning holds water and only a small number of Latin Jazz recordings reach your voting process, what better chances are you giving them for recognition if you throw them into the vast waters of traditional jazz, fusion, smooth jazz, and more? It seems more like you're shuffling some music that you don't want to deal with under the carpet. Once again, I find your actions thoughtless and irresponsible, causing more harm than good.
I've thought long and hard about the impact of your decision, and for me, it comes down to the underlying goals of NARAS. On your website, you've stated:
“The Academy's mission statement is simple, but represents the heart and soul of the organization's efforts: to positively impact the lives of musicians, industry members and our society at large."
If this statement accurately describes The Recording Academy's mission, then I believe that your recent actions are leading the organization towards failure of its professional goals. The elimination of the Latin Jazz Award negatively impacts the lives of numerous musicians, robbing them of the high profile attention associated with The Grammy Awards. For better or worse, an endorsement from The Grammy Awards holds weight among the music buying public, and can significantly impact an artist's career. Latin Jazz artists won't get this opportunity now; you're hurting important artists and you're effectively hiding their music from the general public. This is an obscene abuse of the power and influence that you've amassed. Your actions simply support the interests of major labels, fueling the money machine behind pop culture. The elimination of the Latin Jazz Award is absolutely contrary to the core fundamentals behind your mission statement; I believe that you either need to change your current decisions or revise your mission statement.
I find your actions irresponsible, your intensions questionable, and your integrity compromised, forcing me into some tough decisions. If you continue with your current plan of action—eliminating the Latin Jazz Award—I'll have no choice but to take a few actions of my own. As a journalist, I'll feel a professional obligation to encourage my readers to ban The Grammy Awards show and disregard the value of an endorsement from the awards. As an educator, I'll feel responsible to teach my students about the thinly veiled corrupt business aesthetics that drive the award choices and encourage them to look elsewhere for quality music recommendations. As a member of the Latin Jazz musical community, I'll stop interactions with NARAS and support my peers in alternate forms of recognition. This is not really a path that I would like to pursue, but one that I'm certainly willing to walk down.
Again, I hope that you will reconsider your choice to eliminate the Latin Jazz Grammy Award. I think that this can be the beginning of the conversation and not the end—I would like to feel good about knowing that The Grammy Awards do signify musical excellence. Unfortunately, I currently can't say that I believe this.
Sincerely,
Chip Boaz
