North Campus Student Is Youngest Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy Winner

The good luck rock gifted to Joey Calveiro by his late grandmother with an inscription that reads “you can do anything” felt heavy in his suit pocket as he sat at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Feb. 1.

As the 18-year-old saxophonist waited to hear if he had won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album, he turned to his mentors Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Yainer Horta, who were seated next to him, said: “Whatever the outcome, I just want to tell you guys that you have changed my life forever, and I’m super grateful to have you in this moment and to be able to share this moment with you.”

Soon after, Calveiro, wearing designer sunglasses and a brown suit, took center stage to accept his Grammy.   

“This is for music and the future of music, to the younger generation and everybody out there listening, this is proof that dreams do come true,” Calveiro said as he hoisted the award above his head, becoming the category’s youngest winner in Grammy’s history.

  A Tribute to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole was a project that Calveiro, a North Campus presidential scholar studying business administration, started when he was finishing high school at Miami Arts Charter School.

Production for the project lasted six months and was released on Aug. 24 of 2025. The album is a homage to legendary Cuban singer Benny Moré and American icon Nat King Cole. 

It delivers a fusion of Moré’s Spanish-Caribbean rhythms with Cole’s intimate ballads, bringing together the best of jazz in the 1950s. The album’s ensemble includes Rubalcaba on piano, Horta with the saxophone, Armando Gola on acoustic bass, drummer Hilario Bell, percussionist Richard Bravo and Calveiro’s grandfather, guitarist Teo Calveiro.

“You have three generations [in the album], each of them have a story,” said Jossel Calveiro, Joey’s father and producer of the album. “[Joey] is giving hope to the new kids starting in school, playing an instrument. They’re going to say, I can keep going, and in the end, it’s going to pay off.”

Music has always been in Calveiro’s blood. His father, Jossel, is a Grammy-winning producer and music engineer. The youngster followed in his footsteps, releasing his debut album, Among the Stars, in 2024.  

“Thank you to every person who listened to our music and supported us in any way, this award is dedicated to you,”  the Miami Dade College freshman shared on his social media accounts after the Grammy Award’s ceremony.

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