2009 Grammy Winners in the World and Ethnic Music Categories

The 2009 Grammy winners in the world music categories are full of recognizable names all across the board. No surprises here, and it seems pretty clear that the majority of folks who voted picked their ponies based on name recognition. It's not that any of the winning albums were bad, per se, but there are better CDs in many of the categories. Read up on the full list of nominees in the world music categories to get an idea of what the voters had to choose from.

Best Traditional World Music Album: Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu - Ladysmith Black Mambazo

No surprise here. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are legendary and loveable. This CD sounded pretty much the same as everything they've ever done, though. It's very good, but neither exceptional nor extraordinary. But most of the voters have heard of them, and Grammy voters consistently seem to vote based on name recognition, not whether or not the album itself is worth an award.

Best Contemporary World Music Album: Global Drum Project - Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju & Giovanni Hidalgo

I have to say that I did not think that this record would get the award, simply because there were four other really, really great albums in contention, and Global Drum Project just really doesn't do it for me at all. I don't have a problem with fusion, but I do have a problem with contrivance, and contrivance is the name of the game here. I just have a hard time believing that the Grammy voters thought, "Awesome! A percussion record! I'm voting for that!" Rather, I think the thought process was more along the lines of, "Mickey Hart? From the Grateful Dead? He made a CD? Awesome! I'll totally vote for that!"

Best Reggae Album: Jah is Real - Burning Spear

Burning Spear put out a great record, which is both rootsy and fresh-sounding. In a rare turn of events, both the artist and the album were the superior choice in this category.

Best Cajun or Zydeco Music Album: Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival - BeauSoleil & Michael Doucet

If you don't mind, just go back to the first category, and replace "Ladysmith Black Mambazo" with "BeauSoleil." Okay, not quite... I actually liked the LMB album, whereas I thought this one was just a mediocre, poorly-mixed live recording. BeauSoleil has put out a number of Grammy-worthy records, and will continue to do so, this one just really isn't at that level. Worth noting is that I had an incredibly difficult time getting my hands on a copy of this record - it took me several weeks, in fact, and a fair bit of effort. Do we really think that the Grammy voters put that kind of work in?

Best Polka Album: Let the Whole World Sing - Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra

Jimmy Sturr always wins, to the point where it's almost absurd (and kind of funny - he has three times as many Grammys as Celine Dion, just to put it in perspective). He's great, but again, there are other great musicians in this category who put out better records this year and deserved a chance for a change.

Best Native American Music Album: Come to Me Great Mystery - Native American Healing Songs

Now here's a winner I can get behind. Generally, I get annoyed when compilations win, because I feel like it's kind of a cop-out, or a play-it-safe vote. Then again, this is more of a "project" than a compilation, if that makes sense. That is, it's not a collection of cuts that already appear on a different album; it started out with a plan, and the songs were recorded for this album. And it's great - very listenable and accessible, and really just well-made all around.

Best Hawai'ian Music Album: 'Ikena - Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho

I actually really loved this album - it's sort of smooth and island-breezy, and Carrere's voice is surprisingly beautiful. I'm not convinced that the voters necessarily listened very hard to the whole list, but I'll just go with it this time around, because I think the choice was correct.