Great harvest for artists of Quebec origin in anticipation of the 66e Grammy awards ceremony which will take place in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. The Recording Academy unveiled the list of potential recipients on Friday; singer-songwriter Allison Russell received four nominations, maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin has two, Rufus Wainwright and the Afrofusion group Bokanté, led by Montrealer Malika Tirolien, are nominated in one category each.
Originally from Montreal and based in Nashville, Allison Russell established herself in the Americana categories on the strength of her second solo album The Returner, released last September by Fantasy Records. It is cited in the category of Best Americana Album, and its title song, in that of Best American Roots Song.
Russell is also in the running for Best Americana Performance (again for the song The Returner) and for Best American Roots Performance, a hotly contested category with his colleagues Jon Batiste, the magnificent Rihannon Giddens, The Blind Boys of Alabama and the young folk-pop singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham.
In the classical music department, Yannick Nézet-Séguin leaves his mark thanks to this important production: Champion, the first opera composed by Louisiana jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard about the life of American boxer Emile Griffith. Presented by the Metropolitan Opera last spring, it was the subject of an album, competing in the category of Best Opera Recording.
Nézet-Séguin, who campaigns for greater recognition of the talent of African-American composers, is also named as conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in the category of Best Orchestral Performance for the recording of the Symphony No. 4 of the composer Florence Price (1887-1953) and the Negro Folk Symphony by William L. Dawson (1899 – 1990). Deutsche Grammophon released this album last September.
Finally, two nice surprises: Bokanté, the Afrofusion orchestra co-founded by Michael League (Snarky Puppy) and the Montreal singer-songwriter of Guadeloupean origin Malika Tirolien, is nominated in the category of Best “Global Music” Album for History alongside recent albums from Nigerian heavyweights Burna Boy and Davido, fusion orchestra Shakti (with John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain) and Peruvian legend Susana Baca. For his part, Rufus Wainwright received a nomination for Best Folk Album; her Folkocracy will be measured in particular against recordings by Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon.
Neo-r&b star SZA comes out on top with nine nominations, imposing her presence in the bouquet of the most prestigious categories, including Album of the Year for SOS. Rocker Phoebe Bridgers scored seven, while Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, country musician Brandy Clark, Jack Antonoff and Jon Batiste collected six.