Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

From Jack Antonoff to Doja Cat to Flora Purim, this year’s Jewish Grammy nominees span every genre

Jews from across the rap, rock, classical, soundtrack and audiobook worlds are up for awards

(JTA) — This year’s slate of Jewish Grammy nominees offers a little something for everyone.

The nominees for the 2023 Grammy Awards, announced on Tuesday, include prominent Jewish names from pop and rap, but they also recognize Jewish musicians and writers in classical music and other less popular genres.

Here’s the full (and varied) list:

Jack Antonoff, a New Jersey Jewish day school grad who has become one of pop’s most in-demand producers and songwriters, thanks to his work with the likes of Taylor Swift and Lorde, is up for producer of the year — an award he won last year.

Doja Cat, a Jewish rapper and pop star, is up for five: including record of the year, best solo pop performance and best music video, all for her song “Woman.”

Mel Brooks, still going strong at 96, is nominated in the best audiobook category for “All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business.”

James Ginsburg, son of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg and an accomplished classical music producer and record label owner, is up for best classical producer of the year.

Hans Zimmer, the prolific blockbuster film scorer and winner of four previous Grammys (and two Oscars), is nominated in the best soundtrack compilation category for his work on “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Randy Rainbow, the musical comedian who often mocks political figures, is up for best comedy album for “A Little Brains, A Little Talent.”

Tony Kushner, the playwright who through his collaborations with Steven Spielberg has become one of Hollywood’s most prominent Jewish screenwriters, is nominated for best musical theater album, for a revival of the 2003 musical he co-wrote with Jeanine Tesori, “Caroline, or Change.” The show features a range of music, from spirituals to Motown to klezmer.

(The soundtrack to Spielberg and Kushner’s “West Side Story” remake is also nominated in the compilation category.)

Flora Purim, a Brazilian-Jewish jazz and world music icon who is known for recording and collaborating with greats like Chick Corea and Dizzy Gillespie, is nominated for best Latin jazz album, for “If You Will,” her first solo release in over a decade.

Dan Auerbach, the frontman for the rock duo The Black Keys, is nominated in the same category as Antonoff, for his production work outside of his band. Auerbach’s father is Jewish, and the rocker noted earlier this year that he lost several relatives in the Holocaust. (The Black Keys are up for two separate awards, including best rock album for their latest, “Dropout Boogie.”)

The 65th Grammy Awards will take place Feb. 5 in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on CBS.

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version