Nate Smith had some remarks prepared in the event of a win at the 68th Grammy Awards. But as he stepped onstage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday to accept the award for Best Alternative Jazz Album, he was momentarily at a loss for words. “I had it all planned out,” he said, shaking his head. “And then they called my name, and I don’t know what I’m doing up here.”
But Smith — a powerful drummer and sharp producer whose LIVE-ACTION mobilizes a starry array of collaborators — quickly recovered, issuing a series of thank-yous, and a declaration. “This music is about playing together, human beings playing together,” he said. “We are living in a time when human beings are not being featured playing together. AI is kind of taking over, and I think it’s incumbent on the Recording Academy and the recording industry to protect the rights of artists.” The cheers and applause that greeted that line carried over to Smith’s coda: “Live music is our last stand.”
At the Grammys, recognition sometimes even lands on live music by a non-living artist. Such was the case in the category of Best Jazz Performance, which went this year to “Windows (Live),” from Chick Corea’s Trilogy 3. Recorded during a 2010 tour by his all-star trio with Brian Blade and Christian McBride, it amounts to a posthumous victory lap by Corea, who died early in 2021. He also prevailed last year, winning Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Remembrance, his collaboration with banjoist Béla Fleck; with this year’s win, Corea upped his Grammy total to 29.
But for those inclined to grouse about Corea at the Grammys as a fait accompli, there was a surprise this year. Trilogy 3 was up for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, but that honor went instead to Southern Nights by pianist Sullivan Fortner, who has previously won for his collaborations with singers. (Fortner was not in attendance, so Best Jazz Vocal Album nominee Dee Dee Bridgewater accepted on his behalf.)
McBride, who took the stage with Corea’s daughter, Liana, to accept the award for “Windows (Live),” returned to accept one of his own: Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album, for the Christian McBride Big Band’s Without Further Ado, Vol. 1. Counting his various wins with Corea, this brings McBride’s total to 11.
Another proven Grammy overachiever is Samara Joy, who won Best Jazz Vocal Album for Portrait. (Her tally now stands at six, including Best New Artist in 2023.) And the Cuban pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba won his fourth award, in the Best Latin Jazz Album category, for A Tribute to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole, sharing it with Yainer Horta and Joey Calveiro.
In the Best Album Notes category, Ashley Kahn became a repeat winner for Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings. Also repeating in a category was the Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey, who received her second Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album award for A Matter of Time. Accepting the award, she dedicated it in part to music and arts educators everywhere. “I owe everything to my music education, to my arts education,” she said, voicing a cause she also supports through The Laufey Foundation. “We cannot cut arts funding. It’s so important.”
Drummer and producer Bryan Carter later had occasion to mention music education when his 8-Bit Big Band won Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for “Super Mario Praise Break.” Taking the stage, visibly emotional, he said: “Two years ago I got to stand on this stage for the first time, a couple of weeks after my father passed away. Ronald Carter, he was one of the greatest music educators of all time. So I want to dedicate this album to him.”
The award for Best Instrumental Composition isn’t coded as a jazz award, but it often goes to jazz artists — as was the case here, with the award going to “First Snow” by alto saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf. The song appears on Silent Course, his album with the Nordkraft Big Band, a Danish ensemble, and the vocalist Danielle Wertz. “I want to shout out my twin brother, who won his first Grammy last year in the same category,” said Le Bouef as he accepted the award. (Pascal Le Boeuf, a pianist, won in 2025 for “Strands.”)
Also in the composing and arranging category, the award for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals went to the members of säje with Nate Smith, for “Big Fish,” a track from LIVE-ACTION. “I want to thank these four geniuses here,” Smith said, “for taking a pretty good idea and making it epic.” He was referring to the members of säje — Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick and Amanda Taylor — who had all joined him onstage. By the looks of it, he was already completely at home.
