Pat Metheny 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,…
Lil Wayne Leads Grammy Field with Eight Nominations

Nominations for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards were announced by The Recording Academy on December 3, with superstar BMI songwriter/artist Lil Wayne topping the field with eight mentions. Other top BMI nominees included Kanye West, who earned six nods, while Alison Krauss and Radiohead received five each. The Eagles, Lupe Fiasco, and…
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…
Harris Scores ‘Hottest’ Movie Soundtrack
The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), in conjunction with BMI, held coast-to-coast screenings of The Hottest State, held at the Directors Guild both in Los Angeles (July 31) and New York (August 7). The film written and directed by Ethan Hawke, features a soundtrack composed by Grammy-winning BMI singer/songwriter Jesse Harris. A Q&A on the process of creating the songs, featuring Harris, Argentinean singer Rocha and…
BMI Jazz Composers Sweep 2007 Jazz Journalists Association Awards
BMI jazz composers took home the lion’s share of the awards at the 11th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, held June 28 at the Jazz Standard Club in New York City. The event’s top honoree was pianist Andrew Hill, who passed away on April 20 of this year. He received the Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, Composer of the Year and Pianist of the Year, with his widow, Joanne…
BMI Awards $10K Monk Prize to Jazz Pianist Kálmán Oláh
Congratulations to jazz pianist Kálmán Oláh, grand prize winner of the 2006 BMI-sponsored Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composer's Competition. The $10,000 award was presented during the Thelonious Monk Institute's 20th Anniversary Gala held Sept. 20 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Oláh's winning work, performed by a group of jazz all-stars during the celebration, was entitled "Always." Listen to the the winning song, "Always"…
BMI Writers Take Home Majority of This Year’s Grammys
Some of BMI's biggest songwriters and artists were among the top winners at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, held February 8 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mariah Carey Alison Krauss Adding…
It’s Eight Grammy Nods for Mariah, Kanye and Legend
BMI superstars Mariah Carey, Kanye West and John Legend led the list of nominees for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards with eight nods each when contenders were announced at a star-studded press conference held December 8 at Gotham Hall in New York City. Their three-way tie pushed the total number of BMI-nominated songwriters and artists to an astounding 70% in the general fields.
46th Grammy Awards Spotlight BMI Stars
BMI songwriter/artists were once again at the top of the winners list for the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, held February 8 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Leading the BMI pack with three wins was Alison Krauss, who took home two statuettes with her band Union Station and one individual for Best Country Collaboration (with James Taylor).
Neptunes, Evanescence Top List of BMI Grammy Nominees
BMI songwriter/artists are once again at the top of the nominees list for the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, announced December 4 at a press conference held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Pharrell Williams of red hot production duo, The Neptunes, leads the BMI pack with six nods including three individual and three with partner Chad Hugo, who himself earned…
