The winners of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced this evening by The Recording Academy at Staples Center in Los Angeles. In the Best Contemporary World Music Album category, the award goes to 'Throw Down Your Heart, Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions by banjo innovatorm Béla Fleck (USA). The Best Traditional World Music Album is for Douga Mansa by kora master Mamadou Diabate (Mali). The Best Latin Jazz Album award goes to Juntos Para Siempre by Cuban father and son duo Bebo Valdés and Chucho Valdés. 

Other roots music categories:

No longer the Bay Area's best-kept world music secret, San Francisco-based Sila and the Afrofunk Experience have been recognized as being among the genre's elite and most promising artists with the nomination of their sophomore album, Black President, for an NAACP Image Award.

With the nomination, Sila and the AFE join such notables as Omou Sangare, Zap Mama, Maria De Barros, and Rodrigo y Gabriela in the nominations for "Best World Music Album."

The fRoots Critics Poll Albums Of 2009 winners were exclusively revealed last night on BBC Radio 3's World On Three by Lopa Kothari and fRoots magazine editor Ian Anderson.  Album Of 2009 was Staff Benda Bilili's Tres Tres Fort (Crammed), while the Best Re-issue/ Compilation and Best Packaged Album vote both went to the Topic Records 70th Anniversary set Three Score & Ten - A Voice To The People.
 
 Every year since 1986 (when the first winner was Paul Simon's Graceland) fRoots has polled experts in the UK and abroad to decide the Album Of The Year in folk, roots & world music. With over 300 writers, broadcasters and activists on the panel, it is established internationally as the most extensively researched and prestigious annual poll of its kind. When the BBC instigated their Awards For World Music in 2001, the fRoots Critics Poll was incorporated into them as the Album Of The Year. It's "The best researched guide to the key world roots albums of the year" (BBC Radio 3).

Nominations for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced last night by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest over the past year in music, as determined by the voting members of The Academy. The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on "GRAMMY Sunday," Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 – 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

In the Best Contemporary World Music Album category, the nominees are 'Welcome To Mali' by Amadou & Mariam (Mali), 'Throw Down Your Heart, Tales from the Acoustic Planet, Vol. 3: Africa Sessions by Béla Fleck (USA), Day by Day by Femi Kuti (Nigeria), Seya by Oumou Sangare (Mali), and Across the Divide: A Tale of Rhythm and Ancestry by Omar Sosa (Cuba).

Renowned Cuban singer Omara Portuondo won the Best Contemporary Tropical Album or “Mejor Álbum Tropical Contemporáneo” Latin Grammy award with her latest release Gracias produced by Montuno Productions and released on World Village.
 
 Although Portuondo is a four-time Latin Grammy nominee, and won a "Prémio Música Brasileira" Brazilian Music Award last year for her duets album with Maria Bethania, as well as a Billboard Latin Music Award in 2005, this is her first Grammy award. Gracias was also awarded the Cubadisco 2009 Gran Premio (Grand Award)  in May.

One Movement for Music Perth (OMFM) announced the final winner of the Australian Indigenous Music Scholarship (AIMS). Victoria’s Lee Morgan was proclaimed the winner in front of 7,500 festival-goers at last weekend’s One Movement Showcase Music Festival. Department of Indigenous Affairs Director-General Patrick Walker also congratulated Morgan on his selection as the scholarship recipient.
 
 “The opportunities the One Movement for Music scholarship brings are the sort most musicians can only dream about. I wish Lee the very best of luck making the most of this brilliant kick-start to his career,” Mr Walker said.

The Roskilde Festival World Music Award worth 30,000 euros goes to Rokia Traoré's organization that works on professionalizing  Malian music culture. The Roskilde Festival Charity Society founded the Roskilde Festival World Music Award in 2009.
 
 Fondation Passerelle (footbridge foundation), the first winner, was founded by Malian musician Rokia Traoré . An obvious choice, according to Peter Hvalkof who is Roskilde Festival's booker of world music. "Rokia Traoré performed at Roskilde in 2001 and 2009, and she is well on her way to become the next big star from the African continent. Besides reaping excellent reviews for her music, she is a socially aware and engaged artist. Back-stage at this year's festival, we witnessed her commitment to the trainees from Mali who worked there," says Peter Hvalkof.

On Saturday October 3, 2009 the Eleventh Annual Native American Music Awards (N.A.M.A.) was held at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino in Niagara Falls in front of a packed house that featured consistently outstanding live music performances along with an emotionally charged Hall of Fame induction in honor of the late Ritchie Valenz.
 
 Taking this year's top honors are; Joanne Shenandoah & Michael Bucher's Bitter Tears Sacred Ground for Best Compilation, Jana Mashonee's rendition of Sam Cooke's, A Change Is Gonna Come with Derek Miller for Song/Single of the Year, Jan Michael Looking Wolf for Artist of the Year, Skylar Wolf for Debut Artist of the Year, Will and Lil Jess for Debut Duo/Group of the Year, Kevin Locke's Earth Gift for Record of the Year, and American Idol Semi-finalist Charly Lowry for Best Video for her long form video featuring her song, Movin On.