THE 35TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS : JAZZ : Henderson, Tyner Beat the Odds in Jazz

Joe Henderson and McCoy Tyner--two veterans each with more than 30 years in the jazz business--scored upset victories to highlight this year’s jazz Grammy selections.

In awarding Henderson, 56, his first Grammy--for best jazz instrumental solo--academy voters went completely against form. Tenor saxophonist Henderson’s heartfelt yet exploratory solo version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” taken from an album of the same name, marked the first time that an unaccompanied horn soloist has won this category. To boot, Henderson triumphed over sentimental favorite Stan Getz.

Tyner, 55, who was a best instrumental group winner in 1988 but who has been fronting big bands off and on since the mid-’70s, was another surprise, copping the best large jazz ensemble performance category for “The Turning Point.” The pianist-composer topped the acclaimed Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra as well as the GRP All-Star Big Band--exactly the kind of high-profile, name-laden ensembles academy voters often select. Tyner’s rousing offering spotlights the leader’s boisterous pianistics, as well as soloists Junior Cook, John Stubblefield and Steve Turre, among others.

More typical of past Grammy selections were Bobby McFerrin’s victory for “ ‘Round Midnight”--a track from the duo album “Play” that features pianist Chick Corea--in the best jazz vocal performance slot; Pat Metheny, who won for best contemporary jazz (instrumental) for “Secret Story,” and Branford Marsalis’ “I Heard You Twice the First Time” in the best jazz instrumental performance, individual or group.

McFerrin, whose nine previous Grammys include 1988’s best song for “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” was an odds-on favorite to come in ahead of such deserving contenders as Shirley Horn’s “Here’s to Life,” arguably the class of this year’s vocal field. Guitarist Metheny, a six-time winner, defeated chief adversary the Brecker Brothers with his lyrical, thematically based 70-minute work that ingeniously employed a large string section and stretched from jazz to Latin, pop and world music realms. Marsalis’ blues-based album was another popularity-reigns winner--it edged out more musically pleasing items such as Henderson’s “Lush Life” and bassist Charlie Haden’s “Haunted Heart.”