Classical, jazz albums given more chances at Grammy glory

MORE classical and jazz works will get to compete for the album of the year Grammy, one of the most prestigious prizes in music, next year.

The Recording Academy, the group of music professionals who vote on the awards, announced relaxing the requirement for the award recently before the nominating process starts for the 60th Grammys, which will take place on Jan 28, 2018.

Under previous rules, the academy only considered any work released in the qualifying year that ran at least 15 minutes with five or more distinct tracks for album of the year.

In the revision, the academy dropped the requirement of five tracks if the album runs 30 minutes or more.

"The definition expansion allows for greater inclusion of music creators who produce longer pieces, particularly in the classical, dance and jazz fields," it said in a statement.

In practice, pop and rock artistes have dominated the category since the 1960s. The last two winners of were both major commercial successes – Adele’s this year, and Taylor Swift’s in 2016.

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock won in 2008, but for an album that covered songs by folk pop pioneer Joni Mitchell.

The Recording Academy also announced that its 13,000 voters will for the first time vote online this year, rather than mail in ballots. – AFP- Relaxnews