Esperanza Spalding and Stanley Clarke Among 2011 Grammy Winning Bassists
It was another great year for bass players at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, held February 13 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The big win of the night came for Esperanza Spalding, who beat out Justin Bieber and others to be the first jazz artist in decades to win the Grammy for “Best New Artist.” Spalding called the win unexpected.
“I’m tremendously honored to have received the Grammy, and I’m ready for the years ahead,” she said her acceptance speech. “I’m really inspired and ready to do great things.”
Other notable wins include Stanley Clarke, snagging the Best Contemporary Jazz Album award with his CD, The Stanley Clarke Band.
Here’s the list of our favorite winners (bassists!):
- Esperanza Spalding – Best New Artist
- Stanley Clarke —Best Contemporary Jazz Album – The Stanley Clarke Band
- Paul McCartney – Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance –– Helter Skelter, from Good Evening New York City
- Them Crooked Vultures – New Fang, from Them Crooked Vultures (John Paul Jones)
- Iron Maiden – Best Metal Performance – El Dorado, from The Final Frontier (Steve Harris)
- Jeff Beck – Best Rock Instrumental Performance – Hammerhead, from Emotion & Commotion (Tal Wilkenfeld)
- Mingus Big Band – Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album – Live at Jazz Standard (Boris Kozlov)
