Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance was an award given to a song or album for excellence in the jazz fusion genre, a combination of rock and jazz. It was given at the Grammy Awards, which began in 1958 under the name Gramophone Awards.<ref name=Grammy>Template:Cite web</ref> Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".<ref name=Overview>Template:Cite web</ref>

Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental, the award was first presented to the jazz band Weather Report at the 22nd Grammy Awards in 1980 for the album 8:30. In 1988, the category name changed to Best Jazz Fusion Performance and was moved to a newly created Fusion field.<ref name=Browne>Template:Cite web</ref> The category name was retired before the 33rd Grammy Awards (1992) with the addition of the award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance (currently known as Best Contemporary Jazz Album).<ref name=Feather>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Pat Metheny Group holds the record for the most wins in this category, with a total of five. David Sanborn is the only other musician to win the award more than once, with two. The composition "Birdland", written by Weather Report, earned two musicians the award: The Manhattan Transfer won in 1981 and Quincy Jones won in 1991 for the version that appears on the compilation album Back on the Block.<ref name=Grammy1991>Template:Cite web</ref> The award went to artists or groups originating from the United States each year it was presented. Lyle Mays holds the record for the most nominations, with eight (including five with the Pat Metheny group, two as a solo artist, and one shared with Metheny, of which five came in consecutive nominations between 1981 and 1985). The group Spyro Gyra holds the record for the most nominations without a win, with six. In 1990, Terri Lyne Carrington became the first solo female artist to be nominated for the award.<ref name=Zan>Template:Cite web</ref> No female artists were nominated in 1991, the final year the award was presented, making Carrington the only female solo artist to be nominated throughout the category's lifetime.

Recipients

Four men performing various instruments on a stage, surrounded by a drum set and other audio equipment

1980 award-winning group Weather Report, performing in 1981

A man with his eyes closed playing a guitar

Five-time award recipient Pat Metheny performing in 2008

A man with his eyes closed, wearing a black dress shirt and playing a saxophone

Two-time award winner David Sanborn performing in 2008

Head shot of a man with a mustache wearing a decorative black and yellow outfit

1991 award recipient Quincy Jones in 2008

YearTemplate:Ref	Performing artist(s)	Work	Nominees	Ref.
1980	Weather Report	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref name=Grammy1980>Template:Cite web</ref>
1981	The Manhattan Transfer	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref name=Grammy1981>Template:Cite web</ref>
1982	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1983	Pat Metheny Group	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref name=Grammy1983>Template:Cite web</ref>
1984	Pat Metheny Group	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1985	Pat Metheny Group	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1986	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1987	Template:Sortname and David Sanborn	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref name=Grammy1987>Template:Cite web</ref>
1988	Pat Metheny Group	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1989	Yellowjackets	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1990	Pat Metheny Group	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref name=Zan/>
1991	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Template:Smalldiv	<ref name=Grammy1991/>

^{Template:Note} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

See also

• List of Grammy Award categories
• List of jazz fusion musicians
• List of jazz fusion recordings

References

General

• Template:Cite web Note: User must select the "Jazz" category as the genre under the search feature.

Specific

External links

• Grammy.com: 23rd Annual Grammy Awards – Best Jazz Fusion Performance Template:Webarchive