From The GRAMMYs to The Gilmore
February 6, 2026
The 68th GRAMMY Awards took place this weekend, marking one of the most celebrated nights in global music—and it was an especially meaningful moment for The Gilmore family. Our inaugural Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist, Sullivan Fortner, earned his third GRAMMY Award, taking home Best Instrumental Jazz Album for his recent release, Southern Nights—a deeply personal recording that reflects his New Orleans roots.
For more than six decades, the GRAMMY Awards have stood as the highest peer-recognized honor in the music industry. Presented by the Recording Academy, the awards are unique in that they are voted on by fellow musicians, producers, engineers, and music professionals—making them not just a measure of popularity, but a reflection of artistic excellence and respect within the field itself. To win a GRAMMY is to be recognized by one’s own community at the very highest level, and to win multiple times places an artist among a rare and distinguished group.
On Southern Nights, Fortner captures something truly special. As All About Jazz writes:
On Southern Nights, pianist Sullivan Fortner sets out to capture lightning in a bottle and succeeds with radiant charm. Joined by the impeccable Peter Washington on bass and the restless Marcus Gilmore on drums, Fortner opts for total spontaneity: no rehearsals, no retakes, no isolation. The result is a recording that feels alive and as richly human as a live club set, yet marked by an almost telepathic cohesion.
This is Fortner’s third GRAMMY, following earlier wins for Best Jazz Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album—a record that speaks to the range of his work both as a leader and as a collaborator.
And Fortner is far from the only GRAMMY-recognized artist audiences will hear at The Gilmore this spring. In fact, we are thrilled to welcome nine GRAMMY winners to the 2026 Gilmore Piano Festival, alongside many other performers whose work continues to shape today’s music landscape.
We’re proud to bring artists of this level to West Michigan and to share their work with our community. Let’s take a closer look at the GRAMMY-winning artists who will be joining us this spring…
Chucho Valdés | May 9 @ 7:30 pm | Chenery Auditorium
Chucho Valdés is one of the most influential figures in Afro-Cuban jazz. A pianist, composer, and bandleader, he was born in Havana in 1941 into a musical family and became internationally known as the founder of Irakere, the groundbreaking ensemble that fused jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, classical music, and rock. Over a career spanning more than six decades, Valdés has shaped how Latin jazz is played, written, and heard around the world.
Valdés is a seven-time GRAMMY winner (plus multiple Latin GRAMMY Awards), with honors recognizing both his work as a solo artist and his leadership of major ensembles. His GRAMMY wins include:
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Best Latin Jazz Album for Live at the Village Vanguard
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Best Latin Jazz Album for Chucho’s Steps
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Best Latin Jazz Album for New Conceptions
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Best Latin Jazz Album for Juntos para Siempre (with saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera)
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Best Latin Jazz Album for Border-Free
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Best Latin Jazz Album for Jazz Batá 2
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Best Latin Jazz Album for Mirror Mirror (with Eliane Elias and Chick Corea)
Valdés will be joined by his Royal Quartet at The Gilmore on May 9, where they’ll play at the beautiful Chenery Auditorium.
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Cécile McLorin Salvant | May 10 @ 4 pm | Chenery Auditorium
Cécile McLorin Salvant is one of the leading vocalists in jazz today. Known for her precise musicianship and thoughtful approach to storytelling, Salvant moves easily between early jazz, blues, and contemporary repertoire, bringing historical material into conversation with modern audiences. Since emerging on the international scene in the early 2010s, she has become a central voice in the genre, respected for both her technical command and her interpretive depth.
Salvant is a three-time GRAMMY Award winner, all for Best Jazz Vocal Album, one of the most competitive categories in jazz. Her GRAMMY-winning recordings are:
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For One to Love (2015)
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Dreams and Daggers (2017)
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The Window (2018, with pianist Sullivan Fortner)
Her collaboration with Sullivan Fortner, The Gilmore’s 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist, has been a significant part of both artists’ careers. The Window, their 2018 duo recording, was praised for its close musical dialogue and earned them a GRAMMY Award, highlighting the depth of their long-standing partnership.
Their musical rapport will be part of the Gilmore Festival Finale on May 10 at Chenery Auditorium, with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.
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Joshua Bell | April 24 @ 7:30 pm | Chenery Auditorium
Joshua Bell is one of the most widely recognized violinists of his generation. With a career spanning more than four decades, he has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras around the world while also maintaining an active chamber-music and recording career. In addition to his work as a performer, Bell serves as Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and is known for his long-standing commitment to both classical tradition and new music.
Bell is a one-time GRAMMY Award winner and has received several additional nominations over the course of his career. He won Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with Orchestra) for his recording of Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra, a performance widely praised for its technical command and musical focus.
Bell will appear in an event just ahead of the 2026 Gilmore Piano Festival on April 24, where he will be joined by pianist Shai Wosner in a recital program.
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Eighth Blackbird | May 5 @ 2 pm | Dalton Center Recital Hall
Eighth Blackbird is a GRAMMY-winning contemporary music ensemble based in Chicago, known for its energetic approach to new music and for working closely with today’s leading composers. Founded in 1996, the group has built a reputation for performances that combine technical precision with a strong sense of collaboration and experimentation. Their projects often blur the boundaries between chamber music, theater, and multimedia performance.
The ensemble is a three-time GRAMMY Award winner, recognized for recordings that highlight new works written specifically for them.
Their GRAMMY wins include:
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Best Small Ensemble Performance for Meanwhile (2007)
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Best Small Ensemble Performance for Four Elements (2009)
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Best Small Ensemble Performance for Filament (2019)
Eighth Blackbird will appear at the 2026 Gilmore Piano Festival on May 5 at the Dalton Center on the campus of Western Michigan University, where they will present a program that includes a Gilmore-commissioned new work by Clarice Assad.
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Richard Goode | May 3 @ 7:30 pm | Dalton Center Recital Hall
Richard Goode is one of the most respected American pianists of his generation, known for his interpretations of the Classical and Romantic repertoire, particularly the music of Beethoven and Mozart. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Goode has appeared with major orchestras around the world and is widely admired for performances that balance structural clarity with expressive depth.
Goode is a GRAMMY Award winner for his recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1–5 with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which received Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (with Orchestra). The recording was praised for its transparent, chamber-music-like approach and has become an important reference for these works.
Goode will perform on May 3 at the Dalton Center Recital Hall, where audiences will have the opportunity to hear one of the most influential pianists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in a Festival setting.
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Nicole Zuraitis | May 7 (Kalamazoo) & May 8 (Battle Creek)
Nicole Zuraitis is a New York–based jazz vocalist, pianist, and songwriter whose work brings together jazz tradition with contemporary songwriting and pop-influenced arrangements. In addition to her performing career, she is also an arranger and producer, known for creating recordings that highlight both her voice and her pianistic approach. Zuraitis has built a following for music that is accessible without sacrificing musical depth, moving comfortably between jazz standards and original material.
Zuraitis won her first GRAMMY Award in 2024, receiving Best Jazz Vocal Album for How Love Begins. The album was recognized for its cohesive sound and the way it blends lyrical songwriting with jazz-based ensemble playing.
Zuraitis will perform at noon on May 7 at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, followed by a performance at the Kool Family Community Center in Battle Creek on May 8 at 7 p.m.
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Brad Mehldau | May 4 @ 7:30 pm | Dalton Center Recital Hall
Brad Mehldau is one of the most influential jazz pianists of the past three decades. Known for bringing classical structure into modern jazz improvisation, his work spans solo piano, small ensembles, and larger projects that incorporate elements of pop, rock, and classical music. Through an extensive recording and touring career, Mehldau has played a central role in shaping contemporary jazz piano.
Mehldau is a GRAMMY Award winner, receiving Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Finding Gabriel (2020), an album that blends jazz with choral and electronic elements. He has also received multiple GRAMMY nominations across his career for both solo and ensemble recordings.
Mehldau will appear at the 2026 Gilmore Piano Festival in a duo recital with 2010 Gilmore Artist Kirill Gerstein on May 4 at Dalton Center Recital Hall.
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Bill Charlap | May 7 @ 5 & 8 pm | D. Terry Williams Theatre
Bill Charlap is a jazz pianist and bandleader known for his work within the Great American Songbook tradition. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has led his own trio, collaborated with leading vocalists, and played a central role in major jazz institutions, including his work as Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Charlap is a GRAMMY Award winner, receiving Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining – The Songs of Jerome Kern (2015), recorded with vocalist Tony Bennett.
At the 2026 Gilmore Piano Festival, Charlap will be joined by fellow pianist and composer Renée Rosnes, his wife and long-time musical partner on May 7 at the D. Terry Williams Theatre on WMU’s campus.
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