The Recording Academy® Features Jazz and Classical Genres During GRAMMY® Week

Continuing its mission of recognizing excellence in music, The Recording Academy®will present the GRAMMY Salute To Jazz ® and GRAMMY Salute To Classical Music® during GRAMMY® Week 2010. This year’s GRAMMY Salute To Jazz honoree is guitarist Kenny Burrell and the GRAMMY Salute To Classical Music honoree is tenor Plácido Domingo. These tributes are part of the GRAMMY Week series of events, culminating with the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, to be broadcast live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on the CBS Television Network, from 8–11:30 p.m.(ET/PT). Each event will feature live performances and a special presentation of The Recording Academy President’s Merit Award to these accomplished artists in honor of their professional achievements. For more information, please visit www.grammy.com.

“At The Recording Academy, as we celebrate music 365 days of the year, we are proud to recognize these extraordinary individuals at our ‘Salute To’ series during GRAMMY Week, ” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “They have made a profound impact on jazz and classical music and have dedicated their lives to ensuring these genres remain a vital part of our culture.”

GRAMMY Salute To Jazz

The GRAMMY Salute To Jazz honoring Kenny Burrell will be held at the GRAMMY Museum® at L.A. LIVE on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Burrell is a celebrated and respected jazz guitarist who pioneered the guitar-led jazz trio with bass and drums in the late 1950s, and one of the earliest proponents of solo jazz guitar.He has recorded more than 100 albums and has played with the likes of John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. One of his songs,”Dear Ella, ” was the title tune for the GRAMMY-winning album by Dee Dee Bridgewater in 1997. In addition to his extensive performing,recording and composing schedule, Burrell is the founder and director of the jazz studies program at University of California, Los Angeles, where he is a professor of music and ethno musicology. He is a lecturer and director of workshops on guitar and jazz studies, and theco-founder of the Jazz Heritage Foundation and the Friends of Jazz at UCLA. He will be featured on the Delta Airlines’ GRAMMY Salute To Jazz channel for the month of January.

GRAMMY Salute To Classical Music

The GRAMMY Salute To Classical Music will honor Plácido Domingo at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. With seven GRAMMY Awards and three Latin GRAMMY Awards, Domingo’s diverse repertoire includes 130 opera roles, more than 100 recordings and 50music videos. In addition to being one of the most influential singing actors in the history of opera, he is also a respected conductor and a major force as an opera administrator in his role as general director of the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera. He has conducted many opera performances with The Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and Los Angeles Opera. He most recently conducted Yo-Yo Ma at the Hollywood Bowl. His film work includes three feature opera films, and his featured voiceover work includes the role of Monte in Disney’s Beverly Hills Chihuahua and playing himself in the TV show “The Simpsons.” In 1993, he founded Operalia, an annual vocal competition that has helped launch the careers of many singers who have become major forces on the world’s stages.

The President’s Merit Award is presented to both of these honorees for their artistic excellence and prolific contributions to their respective genres. Both events will feature a private cocktail reception, special presentation of the award and guest performances.