Toots Thielemans appears in...
Antonio Sanchez, Reaching New Heights

Antonio Sanchez fondly recalls an inadvertent compliment he received years ago. Scheduled to accompany the legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden at New York’s Village Vanguard nightclub, Sanchez was warned beforehand that Haden harbored a particular distaste for loud drummers. Sanchez took heed. “I started out playing with brushes, then little by little I started playing more with sticks,” Sanchez says. “After a couple of nights, (Haden) asked,…
BMI Jazz Composers Top ‘Downbeat’ Readers Poll
Downbeat has released its 73rd Annual Readers Poll with BMI jazz composers topping 24 of the 29 categories, accounting for 84% of the winners. These composers represent the “who’s who” of jazz performers and BMI’s dominance in the genre. Sonny Rollins top two categories, Jazz Artist and Tenor Saxophone, while the Pat Metheny Trio garnered the Jazz Group award; Pat Metheny himself nabbed the…
BMI Composers Lead NEA ’09 Jazz Masters
BMI composers George Benson (guitarist), Jimmy Cobb (drummer), Lee Konitz (saxophonist) and Toots Thielemans (multi-instrumentalist) have been named recipients of the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. The honorees will each receive a $25,000 grant award and will be honored in an awards ceremony and concert on October 17. Additional honorees include…
BMI Jazz Giants Score in Down Beat 2007 Critics Poll

BMI composers dominated the 2007 Down Beat Critics Poll, winning 69% of the awards. Celebrated bassist and bandleader Dave Holland was a multiple winner, taking home honors both for Bassist of the Year and Band of the Year for his quintet. The late pianist Andrew Hill was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame, and Miles Davis’s Legendary Prestige Sessions won…
BMI Jazz Greats Sweep ‘Downbeat’ Critics Poll
Once again, BMI members swept the jazz world's annual "best of" list presented by Downbeat magazine, the voice of jazz since 1934. BMI's dedication to the advancement of original forms of American music exists as a cornerstone of the organization's very conception, and remains a priority today. …
