Minnesota was in the house at Sunday's Grammys. In fact, Minnesota dominated the first 20 minutes. Prince presented the first prize, and then Jimmy Jam, chairman of the Recording Academy, started to give a speech, only to be interrupted by fellow members of the Time, Morris Day and Jerome Benton.
It was time for the Time's first performance in 18 years, an abbreviated rendition of "Jungle Love" (from "Purple Rain") that segued into the Time backing Rihanna, one of today's biggest stars, on "Umbrella" and "Please Don't Stop the Music."
Cool.
As it turned out, Prince was the only Minnesota resident to go home with a Grammy. Nominated for two trophies, Prince earned one, for "Future Baby Mama," a track on his "Planet Earth," honored as best male R&B vocal performance. It is his seventh Grammy.
The Minnesota Orchestra and music director Osmo Vänskä, nominated for best orchestral performance for Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, saw the trophy go to Leonard Slatkin, former Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest artistic director, now with the Nashville Symphony, who landed three Grammys Sunday.
Minneapolis guitarist Brian Setzer missed out in the classical crossover category, as his "Wolfgang's Big Night Out" lost to Turtle Island Quartet's "A Love Supreme."
But Hopkins High School graduate Andrew Dawson practically couldn't miss in the best-rap-album category since he served as engineer on four of the five nominees. He merited a Grammy for his work on Kanye West's "Graduation."
Windom native and University of Minnesota graduate Maria Schneider, a celebrated New York jazz composer/conductor, captured her second Grammy, for best instrumental composition for "Cerulean Skies." However, she struck out for best large jazz ensemble recording.
