Questlove, Jazmine Sullivan, Christian McBride and the Philadelphia Orchestra: Philly wins big at the Grammys

Philadelphia musicians were standouts at the afternoon Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday in Las Vegas, where Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, jazz bandleader Christian McBride, R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, and the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin were all winners.

The great majority of the total 86 awards given out at the 2022 Grammys were presented at the show at the MGM Grand Conference Marquee Ballroom, which was hosted by Levar Burton and preceded the prime time telecast on CBS hosted by Trevor Noah.

Questlove won for best music film for Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), his documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which also won best documentary at the Oscars last week.

This time, the Roots drummer and his team of producers were able to accept their awards without being overshadowed as they were when Will Smith came on stage to slap Chris Rock immediately before Rock presented them with their award .

“What a journey for this film,” Questlove said in accepting his golden gramophone, “from Sundance ... to last week.”

“It just hit me that we really haven’t given much spotlight to what really matters in the film, which is all the beautiful artists that perform there,” he added, and went on to namecheck Stevie Wonder, Staple Singers, Sly and the Family Stone and the late critic Greg Tate, among others.

» READ MORE: Questlove on Black joy and bringing erased history back to life with ‘Summer of Soul’

In accepting his Summer of Soul Grammy, Indian-American producer Joseph Patel, who Rock erroneously identified as one of “three white guys” with Questlove at the Oscars, simply said: “This is for Harlem.”

On the telecast, Questlove presented the Best Song award, which went to “Leave The Door Open,” by Silk Sonic, the duo of Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars.

Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra won for best orchestral performance for the recording of Florence Price’s First and Third Symphonies, which celebrates the work of Price, the first Black woman composer to have a symphonic work premiered by a major American orchestra.

It was a first Grammy win for the orchestra in the best orchestral performance category — and a first Grammy for Nézet-Séguin. “I’ve never really been attached to awards but this is something I really, really wanted,” the orchestra’s music director told the Inquirer on Sunday night, “because of what it means for Florence Price to finally be acknowledged.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia Orchestra performance of Florence Price symphony begins an ‘overdue’ commitment to the Black female composer’s works

“It was long overdue for her music to be in the repertoire of the orchestra and in chamber music and in schools, but I think a Grammy win is going to make a huge step for her music to be better acknowledged and appreciated. I am sure the curiosity of people will be heightened now because of this win, and since it’s my first Grammy, to have it with my wonderful orchestra after 10 years of being together, for such a significant project, makes it all extra special.”

McBride won his eighth Grammy, taking home the prize in the best large jazz ensemble for his 17 piece Christian McBride Big Band’s For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver, his 2020 album whose title honors Philly organ great Jimmy Smith, guitarist Wes Montgomery, and saxophonist and composer Oliver Nelson.

The bassist — who in the late 1980s played bass alongside Questlove and rapper Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter in a band then known as the Square Roots, and is now the host of NPR’s Jazz Night In America — beat out another Philly big band, the Sun Ra Arkestra, who were nominated for their album Swirling.

» READ MORE: Jazz great Christian McBride has new music to go with famous civil rights speeches

McBride thanked fellow Philly musician Joey DeFrancesco, who he called “the world’s greatest organ player” and dedicated the trophy to two men who he said were “my heroes”: music promoter George Wein and jazz keyboard great Chick Corea, both of whom died in 2021. Corea won two awards posthumously on Sunday: best improvised solo for “Humpty Dumpty, Part 2″ and Latin Jazz album for Mirror, Mirror, by Eliane Elias with Chick Corea and Chucho Valdes.

Sullivan’s song “Pick Up Your Feelings,” from her 2021 album Heaux Tales, won in the best R&B performance category, finishing in a tie with Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open.” During the telecast, Sullivan won best R&B album for Heaux Tales. Accepting her trophy from Billy Porter, she thanked “everybody back in Philly” and said: “I wrote this project to deal with my own shame and for forgiveness around decisions I made in my 20s that weren’t favorable.”

”But what it ended up being was a safe space for Black women to tell their stories, to learn from each other, laugh with each other and not be exploited at the same time. So, shout out to all Black women who are just living their lives and being beautiful. I love you all.”

» READ MORE: The best albums of 2021 include Jazmine Sullivan, Olivia Rodrigo, Allison Russell, and The War on Drugs

Japanese Breakfast, the Philly rock band led by best-selling author Michelle Zauner, was nominated in the best alternative music category for her Jubilee, but lost to St. Vincent’s Daddy’s Home. On the telecast, Japanese Breakfast will compete in the prestigious best new artist category, one of the Grammys four major awards.

New Orleans multi-instrumentalist and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste went into Sunday leading the way with most nominations with 11, and he racked up four wins in the afternoon show. He won best Americana roots song, best Americana roots performance and best music video, all for “Cry,” and also won for best score soundtrack for visual media, with collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the animated film Soul, tying with Carlos Rafael Rivera for The Queen’s Gambit.

The Foo Fighters swept the rock categories, winning for best song and performance as well as album for Medicine at Midnight. The band was scheduled to perform on the telecast but cancelled after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last month. Presenter Jimmy Jam accepted the awards on their behalf. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga won best traditional pop vocal album for Love For Sale and Olivia Rodrigo won best pop solo performance for “Drivers License.”

East Oak Lane native Leslie Odom Jr., who was scheduled to perform on the prime time telecast as a part of a tribute to Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, was nominated in the best song written for visual media category for “Speak Now,” written for the 2021 movie One Night In Miami, in which he played Sam Cooke.

Pink was also nominated in the category for “All I Know So Far.” They both lost to Bo Burnham and his song “All Eyes On Me,” which was written for his Netflix special Inside.

In the best historical album category, a collection of the works of late Philadelphia classical vocalist Marian Anderson called Beyond the Music: Her Complete RCA Victor Recordings was nominated but lost to Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1, the Early Years, 1963-1967, a box set which includes performances of Mitchell guesting on the radio show of late Philadelphias deejay Gene Shay.

Mitchell was honored at a gala on Friday as the Grammy’s MusicCares Person of the Year and joined in on a singalong to her song “Big Yellow Taxi,” performing in public for the first time since she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015, and was expected to be a presenter on the prime time telecast.

Kevin Hart was nominated for best comedy album for Zero F***s Given, but lost out to Louis C.K.. The Opera Company of Philadelphia, the classical Choral group The Crossing and jazz duo the Baylor Project were also nominated for awards but did not win.