Berklee’s 2022 Alumni Grammy Nominees: See the Full List

Nominees include Arooj Aftab, Miguel Zenón, Esperanza Spalding, and others in categories including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.

November 23, 2021

The nominees for the 64th annual Grammy Awards were announced on Tuesday, November 23, and Berklee will once again have a major presence at event, with 38 alumni receiving 43 nominations across 23 categories, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Metal Performance, and Best Bluegrass Album, among many others.

Pakistani-born singer and composer Arooj Aftab B.M. ’10 was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Global Music Performance, for her song “Mohabbat”; Esperanza Spalding B.M. ’05, a four-time Grammy Award winner, received a Best Jazz Vocal Album nomination for Songwrights Apothecary Lab; and eight-time Grammy nominee Miguel Zenón B.M. ’98 was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album for El Arte Del Bolero, a collaboration with Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo.

Other nominees included St. Vincent (Annie Clark ’04), whose latest release, Daddy’s Home, was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album; Andy Hall B.M. ’97 and Chris Pandolfi B.M. ’03 of the Infamous Stringdusters, who received a Best Bluegrass Album nomination for A Tribute to Bill Monroe; and Charlie Rosen ’12 and Emile Mosseri B.M. ’07, who each received nominations in the category of Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella. Berklee faculty were also represented, with bassist John Patitucci, visiting scholar in performance studies, receiving a Best Jazz Instrumental Album nomination for Chick Corea Akoustic Band's LIVE. In addition, current student Warren Pettey, a recipient of Berklee's Presidential Scholarship, contributed as a keyboardist and engineer to Tony Succar's Live in Peru, which was nominated for Best Tropical Latin Album.

​​This year, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences introduced two new categories, Best Global Music Performance (Global Music Field) and Best Música Urbana Album (Latin Music Field), expanding the number of categories to 86 in total. Watch the 64th annual Grammy Awards on Monday, January 31, 2022, on CBS or streaming on Paramount+ at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Below is a full list of Berklee alumni Grammy nominees. Please note the list is subject to change as we receive updated information.

Record of the Year

  • “Freedom,” Jon Batiste
    • Michelle Mancini B.M. ’08, mastering engineer
  • “Right on Time,” Brandi Carlile
    • Brandon Bell B.M. ’12, engineer/mixer

Album of the Year

  • We Are, Jon Batiste
    • Jaclyn Sanchez B.M. ’12, engineer/mixer
    • Michelle Mancini B.M. ’08, mastering engineer
  • Love for Sale, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
    • Billy Cumella M.M. ’15, engineer/mixer
  • Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe), Justin Bieber
    • Amy Allen ’15, producer/songwriter
    • Jake Torry B.M. ’16, producer/songwriter
    • Benjamin Thomas B.M. ’11, engineer/mixer
    • Scott Braun B.M. ’06, songwriter
  • Back of My Mind, H.E.R.
    • Jeff Gitelman B.M. ’03, producer
    • Chris Galland B.M. ’07, engineer/mixer
    • Jaclyn Sanchez B.M. ’12, engineer/mixer
  • Montero, Lil Nas X
    • Jelli Dorman B.M. ’15, engineer/mixer
  • Sour, Olivia Rodrigo
    • Annie Clark ’04, songwriter
    • Ryan Linvill B.M. ’16, engineer/mixer 
  • Donda, Kanye West
    • Jeff Bhasker ’99, producer/songwriter
    • Scott McDowell ’05, engineer/producer
    • Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit ’16, engineer/producer

Song of the Year

  • “A Beautiful Noise,” Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile
    • Ruby Amanfu ’98, songwriter

Best New Artist

  • Arooj Aftab B.M. ’10

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

  • Coldplay, "Higher Power" 
    • Denise Carite B.M. ’10, songwriter

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

  • Double Dealin’, Randy Brecker and Eric Marienthal
    • Eric Marienthal ’79

Best Metal Performance

  • “The Alien,” Dream Theater
    • John Petrucci ’86
    • John Myung ’86

Best Alternative Music Album

  • Daddy’s Home, St. Vincent 
    • Annie Clark ’04

Best R&B Song

  • “Damage,” H.E.R.
    • Jeff Gitelman B.M. ’03, songwriter

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

  • Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah B.M. ’04, “Sackodougou” (from Weedie Braimah's The Hands of Time)

Best Jazz Vocal Album

  • Songwrights Apothecary Lab, Esperanza Spalding
    • Esperanza Spalding B.M. ’05

Best Latin Jazz Album

  • El Arte Del Bolero, Miguel Zenón and Luis Perdomo
    • Miguel Zenón B.M. ’98

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

  • Feels Like Home Vol. 2, Israel & New Breed
    • Justin Raines ’06, bassist

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album

  • El Madrileño, C. Tangana
    • Lewis Pickett ’09, engineer

Best Bluegrass Album

  • A Tribute to Bill Monroe, The Infamous Stringdusters
    • Andy Hall ’97
    • Chris Pandolfi ’03

Best Traditional Blues Album

  • Traveler's Blues, Blues Traveler
    • Josh Gruss ’97, executive producer

Best Global Music Performance

  • “Mohabbat,” Arooj Aftab B.M. ’10

Best Children’s Music Album

  • Crayon Kids, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band
    • Lucky Diaz ’97
    • Wes Switzer ’07

Best Instrumental Composition

  • “Concerto for Orchestra: Finale,” Vince Mendoza and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra (feat. Antonio Sánchez and Derrick Hodge) 
    • Antonio Sánchez ’97

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella

  • “Meta Knight’s Revenge,” The 8-Bit Big Band feat. Button Masher
    • Charlie Rosen ’12, arranger
  • “Infinite Love,” Emile Mosseri
    • Emile Mosseri ’07, arranger

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

  • “Archetypes,” Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad, and Third Coast Percussion
    • Clarice Assad ’98

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

  • Mythologies, Sangeeta Kaur and Hila Plitmann
    • Nadeem Majdalany B.M. ’06
    • Emilio D. Miler ’95

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

  • “Archetypes,” Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad, and Third Coast Percussion
    • Clarice Assad ’98, composer