A year after the Recording Academy ignited a firestorm of protest in portions of the jazz and Latin communities by eliminating its Grammy Award category for Latin jazz music, the category has been reinstated as part of annual award revisions that also include two new categories and more changes in other areas of music industry recognition.

A coalition of jazz artists and Latin community activities sued the Recording Academy in an attempt to rescind the changes, but a New York judge dismissed the suit in April. Last week’s announcement of category revisions by the academy’s board of trustees is being greeted by affected members as akin to losing a battle but winning the war.

“This member of the community is thrilled,” veteran Latin jazz musician Bobby Matos said Friday. “Restoring this category is a huge step in giving us some dignity and some respect.”

Musicians including Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Playboy Jazz Festival emcee Bill Cosby were among the celebrities who joined the outcry against the elimination of the Latin jazz category.

Despite the lawsuit, which Recording Academy President Neil Portnow described this week as “distracting” and a significant expense to the group, Portnow had said the board would continue to evaluate the relevance of various categories when it met to consider ongoing revisions.

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