Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Joni Mitchell were among the early winners of the Grammys.
The main ceremony in Las Vegas has yet to begin, but a number of awards were presented during a pre-show premiere.
Roots drummer Questlove took the gong for Best Musical Film for his documentary Summer Of Soul, which also won Best Documentary at the Oscars last week.
Jon BatisteChris Pizzello/AP
This award was presented to the team behind the film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival by comedian Chris Rock shortly after he was slapped by Will Smith for a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Folk veteran Mitchell won the Grammy for Best Historical Album for the record Joni Mitchell Archives, Volume 1: The Early Years, a five-disc box set.
Acclaimed jazz pianist Chick Corea, who died of a cancer diagnosis in February last year at the age of 79, has received two posthumous awards.
These were for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for Humpty Dumpty (Set 2) and Best Latin Jazz Album for Mirror Mirror by Eliane Elias, on which he appeared with Chucho Valdes.
Other early winners included Carrie Underwood’s My Savior for Best Roots Gospel Album and Jon Batiste’s Freedom for Best Music Video.
Joni Mitchell accepts the award for Best Historical Album (Chris Pizzello/AP)
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Comedian Nate Bargatze took the stage to announce a crash helmet category in a nod to Smith’s outburst at the Oscars.
He quipped, “They said comedians now have to wear these to awards shows when it comes to making jokes.”
Most of the evening’s 86 prizes will be distributed in the pre-show.
The 64th annual main ceremony will be hosted by The Daily Show host Trevor Noah at the 17,000-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena and will feature a series of live performances and surprise guests.
The event was originally scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on January 31, but was postponed as the Omicron variant spread across the US.
Multi-genre performer Batiste has the most nominations with 11 but faces competition from the likes of Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/questlove-and-joni-mitchell-among-early-winners-at-64th-grammys-41517269.html Questlove and Joni Mitchell are among the early winners of the 64th Grammys