The 52nd Grammy Awards will be presented on January 31st, 2010 at 8:00 pm ET on CBS. Read the list of Grammy nominees for best contemporary jazz album, best jazz vocal album, best improvised jazz solo, best jazz instrumental album, individual, or group, best large ensemble album, and best Latin jazz album. Miguel Zenón's Esta Plena and the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble's Eternal Interlude which both made my list of Favorite Jazz Albums of 2009, were nominated. Zenón was also nominated for his solo on the song "Villa Palmeras."

Image Courtesy of Marsalis Music

Robin D.G. Kelley's book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an America Original, sheds some new light on Monk's musical life, including his innovative and dissonant style, his surprisingly focused marketing goals, and the mental illness that plagued him throughout his career. The book made my list of great holiday gifts of 2009.

Listen to this interview of Robin D.G. Kelley, who is a Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, on NPR's "Fresh Air."

Also, read this recent tribute to, and analysis of Monk's piano style by pianist Vijay Iyer in JazzTimes

Related:

• Ten Jazz Biographies

Image Courtesy of Free Press

Read James Hall's review of the Grammy-nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble's Eternal Interlude, which recently made my list of favorite jazz albums of 2009:

"Though a place at the table should always be reserved for the preservation of big band music from the swing age, it remains an unexpected treat to find music that launches out of tradition as confidently and skillfully as Hollenbeck's does. Like his melodies, which so often sail freely and patiently over a busy backdrop of pointillistic dexterity, Hollenbeck has proven an imperviously unique force in jazz, adapting stylistic and thematic material that would otherwise be considered completely foreign to the idiom..."read more

• Album Review: John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble's Eternal Interlude

Image Courtesy of Sunny Side Records

In addition to my list of favorite albums from 2009, I've put together a list of some great reading, watching, and listening material that might give you some jazz gift ideas for the holiday season.