A New York kind of Grammy

Dustin Hoffman opened the show by introducing Simon & Garfunkel. The legendary duo performed Sounds of Silence, a song used in Hoffman’s breakthrough film The Graduate. He said that there was no emcee for the event because the host of the Grammys this year is the City of New York. It was just as well, a host would have been superfluous in an event so loaded with talent, so aglow with stars and which was also celebrating the Grammys return to New York after five years in Los Angeles. And what better way to do it than with Simon & Garfunkel who once performed in a historic reunion in Central Park and whose music as Dustin said, defined an entire generation.

It was indeed a very New York Kind of Grammy Awards which was held at the Madison Square Garden Sunday evening. It was young like Avril Lavigne and also of a certain venerable age like Tony Bennett. It was eclectic but with sophistication. It was muted and jazzy but knew when to bring out the fireworks. It had big winners like Norah Jones who won in all of the categories she was nominated for. It had duds like Justin Timberlake mining the media value that his photo holding Kylie Minogue’s butt generated or the turban-less Erykah Badu who couldn’t read the teleprompter.

It had magical moments like Yo yo Ma and his cello did a duet of Sweet Baby James with James Taylor which drew a standing ovation. Bits of brilliant typecasting like getting Kim Cattral of Sex and the City to announce the Male Pop Performance winner which went to John Mayer. It was touching like that tribute to the now permanently retired group The Bee Gees. It was incongruous like getting ‘N Sync to sing the Bee Gees songs. All in all though, the evening was one of Grammys’ best.

Here are the winners in the main categories:

• Record of the Year: Don’t Know Why by Norah Jones

• Album of the Year: Come Away with Me by Norah Jones

• Song of the Year: Don’t Know Why performed by Norah Jones

• New Artist: Norah Jones

• Female Pop Vocal: Don’t Know Why by Norah Jones

• Male Pop Vocal: Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer

• Duo or Group Pop Vocal: Hey Baby by No Doubt

• Pop Collaboration with Vocals: The Game of Love by Santana and Michelle Branch.

• Pop Instrumental: Auld Lang Syne by B.B. King

• Pop Instrumental Album: Just Chillin’ by Norman Brown

• Dance Recording: Days Go By by Dirty Vegas

• Pop Vocal Album: Come Away with Me by Norah Jones

• Traditional Pop Vocal: Playing with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues by Tony Bennett

• Female Rock Vocal: Steve McQueen by Sheryl Crow

• Male Rock Vocal: The Rising by Bruce Springsteen.

• Rock Vocal by Duo or Group: In My Place by Coldplay

• Hard Rock Performance: All My Life by Foo Fighters

• Metal Performance: Here to Stay by Korn

• Rock Instrumental Performance: Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia) by The Flaming Lips

• Rock Song: The Rising by Bruce Springsteen

• Rock Album: The Rising by Bruce Springsteen

• Alternative Music Album: A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay

• Female R&B Vocals: He Think I Don’t Know by Mary J. Blige

• Male R&B Vocals: U Don’t Have to Call by Usher

• R&B By Duo or Group with Vocals: Love’s in Need of Love Today by Stevie Wonder & Take Six

• R&B Song: Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip Hop) by Erykah Badu featuring Common

• R&B Album: Voyage to India by India.Arie

• Traditional R&B with Vocals: What’s Going On by Chaka Khan & The Funk Brothers

• Contemporary R&B Album: Ashanti by Ashanti

• Urban/Alternative Performance: Little Things by India.Arie

• Rap /Sung Collaboration: Dilemma by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland

• Rap Duo or Group Performance: The Whole World by OutKast featuring Killer Mike.

• Rap Album: The Eminem Show by Eminem

• Female Rap Solo Performance: Scream A.K.A. Itchin’ by Missy Elliott

• Male Rap Solo Performance: Hot in Herre by Nelly

• Compilation Soundtrack Album: Standing in the Shadows of Motown

• Score Soundtrack Album: The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring

• Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television: If I Didn’t Have You from Monsters, Inc. by Randy Newman

• Short Form Music Video: Without Me by Eminem

For those of you interested in the winners for Jazz, Classical, Country, New Age, Latin, Tejano, Packaging, arranging and other categories that I am not able to include, please check out the Grammy site on the net. That is where they have everything listed down.