8 Jazz Recordings Selected for 2011 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

There are 30 recordings being inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame for 2011. The recordings are from all genres and can be albums or singles.

The jazz albums selected are Bill Evans' "Sunday at the Village Vanguard", Ray Charles' "Genius + Soul = Jazz", Keith Jarrett's "The Koln Concert" and Weather Report's "Heavy Weather".

The singles that made it in this year are: Sidney Bechet's version of "Summertime", Mildred Bailey's "Rockin' Chair", and two from Duke Ellington and his Orchestra - "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" (featuring Al Hibbler) and "Ko-Ko".

To give you a better idea of what the GRAMMY Hall of Fame is all about, here is an excerpt from the official announcement posted on GRAMMY.com:

In continuing its mission to preserve and celebrate music year-round, The Recording Academy has announced the newest additions to its legendary GRAMMY Hall of Fame , adding 30 recordings to a collection that now totals 881 titles. The collection is on display at the GRAMMY Museum.

"The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame represents all genres of music, acknowledging the diversity of musical expression for which The Academy has become renowned," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "These musical treasures have brought us timeless recordings, and each of them deserves to be memorialized. These recordings are living evidence that music remains an indelible part of our culture."

The entire list of recordings - which includes folk, R&B, rock, pop, gospel, blues, country and classical entries, can be seen here.

Are there any surprises on the list? What do you think should be included that wasn't? Let me know!

Comments

[Jim Kuemmerle]

Hey, Donna --

I have no idea what criteria go into picking what enters the hall of fame when, but I'm a little stunned that "Ko-Ko" and the Village Vanguard album weren't in there already.

(A little stunned? Oy. Just stunned.)

Anyway, glad to see some love being shown to all those artists, but particularly in the direction of Duke and Bill Evans, two of my all-time biggest heroes.

--Jim

[Donna M]

Jim

I was surprised that "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" wasn't in the Hall of Fame, too. This is all new to me but because I'm involved with GRAMMY.com now, I'm reading more and more on what The Recording Academy does and why they do it.

I do know that a song/album has to wait 25 years after the release date to be eligible but that doesn't explain why it took so long for Bill Evans' live album to be included.

The Bechet and Mildred Bailey singles are from the late 30s. When I find out more, I'll let you know, okay?

DM
~

[Jim Kuemmerle]

Cool! :D

It's not something I'd given much thought to in the past, but now I'm curious.

[Jim Kuemmerle]

Thank you so much, Donna!

--Jim