IU alumni, faculty grace the list of Grammy nominees

The list of nominees for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards also serves as a veritable who’s who of IU alumni and faculty members.

This year the list includes various alumni, as well as trumpet player and past Grammy-winner Chris Botti, whose special-guest-filled live release titled “In Boston” is up for three awards.

It also features former faculty member Paul Hillier, who conducted composer David Lang’s song, “The Little Matchgirl Passion,” up for Best Small Ensemble Performance.

In addition, IU alumnus Jerry Hey is nominated for his work on Seal’s song, “A Change is Gonna Come,” and former IU student and bassist-composer-conductor John Clayton, whose “Brother to Brother” recording is nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Alumnus Booker T. Jones, member of the 1960s band Booker T. & the M.G.’s, received two nominations for his album, “Potato Hole.”

Glenn Gass, Jacobs School of Music professor, is particularly excited about Booker T.’s nominations.

“There ought to be a statue of him out here,” Gass said. “I really think we need to do something for him, and I think this nomination only highlights that he is not just a relic that went here 45 years ago. He’s still out there making music, and he’s revered, it seems, everywhere but his own university.”

Other alumni and faculty appear on nominated recordings as well but are not necessarily nominated individually, including faculty member and multiple Grammy-award winning conductor Leonard Slatkin, as well as alumnus and pianist Jonathan Biss.

Claude Baker, a school of music composition professor said the number of nominees affiliated with the Jacobs School of Music, while impressive, does not come as a surprise.

“It’s just something you’d expect of a school of this caliber,” Baker said. “The only surprise is that there’s not more.”

Gass agreed.

“I think that if you went through almost any random year you would find an astonishing number of IU people compared to any other college,” Gass said. “Because we are so big and our reputation is so good, we attract good people and turn out good people.”

In the past five years alone, the alumni and faculty of the University have been nominated over 25 times.

The importance of IU’s long-held Grammy presence is not lost on its students.

“It’s incredible to be around these people,” said sophomore Melissa Bork. “To see them work, to pass them in the halls, even. It’s just a really good opportunity to be able to do that.”