The winner of the Competition will receive a $20,000 scholarship, second place a $10,000 scholarship and third place a $5,000 scholarship. The Competition application and guidelines are available on the Monk Institute website, www.monkinstitute.org.

The Institute has also announced today that the application for the Thelonious Monk International Composer’s Competition is available on the Institute’s website. Sponsored for the past 15 years by BMI, the Composers Competition awards a $10,000 grand prize to the young composer who best demonstrates originality, creativity and excellence in jazz composition.

"A mutual desire to draw attention to the central role of the composer in creating new works for the jazz idiom, a role epitomized by Thelonious Monk, led to our collaboration with the Institute 15 years ago in developing the Composers Competition, " said BMI President and CEO Del Bryant. "As with the Institute's main competition, the process has identified some of the most exciting young jazz composing talent from around the world, and played a significant role in launching and supporting careers for the young composer/ artists who are creating a new repertoire that will be treasured by generations to come."

In addition, the Monk Institute and Concord Music Group jointly announced an historic partnership that will guarantee the 2008 winner a record deal from Concord. This is the first time in the 21-year history of the competition that the winner will walk off stage with a guaranteed recording contract and the first time Concord Music Group has ever entered into a partnership of this kind. Concord Music Group plans to release the winner’s album in mid-2009.

An All-Star Concert Gala to benefit the Institute’s jazz education programs will immediately follow the Saxophone Competition and will include the presentation of the 2008 Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award. Details on the benefit concert line-up and the 2008 Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award recipient will be announced in the coming months.

“I am so pleased that the Monk Competition will return to Los Angeles and I’m inspired at this historic partnership with Concord. What an incredible opportunity Concord and the Institute are offering young musicians. This is truly a visionary moment in the history of jazz and I am certain that this year’s winner, like many past winners, will have a significant impact on the future of music”, said Herbie Hancock, Institute Chairman and 2008 Grammy Album of the Year winner.

“Today, the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition has been taken to a new level. For 20 years, the competition has consistently discovered some of the most successful young jazz artists of our time. Our partnership with Concord ensures that the competition continues to be the most prestigious and influential jazz competition in the world by identifying and showcasing the young artists who are the future of jazz”, said Thelonious Monk, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

For the past 13 years, BMI has sponsored the Composer's Competition, which awards $10,000 to the young composer who best demonstrates originality, creativity and excellence in jazz composition. This year's judges included three members of the BMI family: Jim McNeely and Michael Abene, musical directors of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, and clarinet player Don Byron.

BMI's Robbin Ahrold and Phil Graham, grand prize winner Kálmán Oláh, and TS Monk, Jr.

Born in 1970 in Budapest, Hungary, Kálmán Oláh began playing classical piano at the age of seven and started studying jazz piano at age 14. Greatly influenced by his grand-uncle, a Hungarian jazz pianist who was also one of his teachers, he continued playing jazz and began composing at the age of 17. Oláh attended the Béla Bartok Conservatory and completed his musical studies at the Franz Liszt Music University. In 1990, he established Trio Midnight, which launched his career in jazz. Since then, he has performed at festivals and concerts throughout the world.

Former BMI/Monk Jazz Composer's Competition winner Jackie Terrason (l), who performed "Always," congratulates 2006 winner Kálmán Oláh

Over the past decade, Oláh has recorded and performed compositions that fuse jazz and contemporary classical music with Hungarian folk music. Renowned for his distinctive compositional style and his original approach to playing jazz, Oláh has played and recorded with a number of well-known artists, including Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker, Pat Metheny, Steve Grossman, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci and Kenny Wheeler. He has recorded 10 albums in a variety of settings, including trio with strings, solo with chamber orchestra, and piano and bass duets, along with his rendition of Bach's "Goldberg Variations," which features his own improvisations over Bach's original themes.

Currently, Oláh is a member of the jazz faculty of the Liszt Music Academy of Budapest and leads big band workshops at the Berlin Jazz Institute. He plans to record a Concerto for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band, and is working on arrangements for his new compositions, which will be included on an album in memory of Béla Bartok. Earlier this year, Oláh received the Franz Liszt Award, the most prestigious award for music given by the Hungarian Ministry of Culture.

BMI is proud to represent the work of Thelonious Monk and the majority of today's outstanding jazz composers, including Monk Award winners Joshua Redman and Jackie Terrasson. BMI supports the careers of more than 220,000 American composers, and we are proud to represent Herbie Hancock, the Institute's Chairman, Billy Dee Williams, and, of course, T.S. Monk, Jr.

Established in 1986 in memory of the renowned jazz pianist and composer, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz aims to preserve America's legacy of jazz through performance and education. The Institute offers the world's most promising young musicians college level training by America's jazz masters and presents public school-based jazz education programs for young people around the world. Additionally, the Institute provides scholarships, performance opportunities and worldwide recognition to gifted young musicians through its many jazz education programs. The Institute's most recent project is Jazz in America: The National Jazz Curriculum, a free Internet-based curriculum for 5th, 8th and 11th grade public school students.  ]]> 2006-09-18T05:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334830 Artists, Albam, Manny, Brubeck, Dave, Corea, Chick, Davis, Miles, Eubanks, Kevin, Hampton, Lionel, Hancock, Herbie, Jones, Norah, McNeely, Jim, Mingus, Charles, Monk, Thelonious, Parker, Charlie, Redman, Joshua, Rogers, Sherisse, Watson, Bobby, Whitfield, Mark, Musical Styles, Jazz BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, now in its second decade, will highlight the best of new jazz compositions created during the last year at its 18th Annual Summer Showcase Concert. The concert is free to the public, and will be held on Thursday, July 6 at Merkin Concert Hall (Abraham Goodman House at 129 West 67th Street) at 8:00 p.m. The concert will feature the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra - a 16-piece modern repertory ensemble made up of leading Workshop members. Seating is first-come, first-served; doors open at 7:30 p.m.

The evening will also announce the winner of the BMI Foundation's seventh annual Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, given to the writer of the best new work composed in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. This year's judges include jazz virtuosos Robin Eubanks and Joe Lovano, and noted jazz authority Dan Morgenstern.

The winning composer will receive a cash award and the $3000 Manny Albam Commission to compose a new piece for the following year's concert. Named in memory of the Workshop's co-founder and longtime musical director, last year's Manny Albam Commission winner, Sherisse Rogers, will premiere her commissioned work during the showcase.

The BMI Jazz Composers Workshop is led by internationally renowned composers Jim McNeely and Michael Abene, and offers a unique collaborative environment for professional jazz musicians with an emphasis on composition for the large jazz (big band) ensemble. The Workshop - a well-known forum for creative excellence - provides an environment where composers are free to explore new avenues in the creative process, while at the same time honing their skills. McNeely has performed with and written for Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, among others, and is a six-time Grammy Award nominee. Abene is the Dean of the Manhattan School of Music, and has composed and arranged for Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Chick Corea and others; he is also a well-known record producer.

BMI's impressive roster of jazz artists includes such legends as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton and Charles Mingus, as well as today's new jazz stars like Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Kevin Eubanks, Joshua Redman, Mark Whitfield and Bobby Watson.

The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to support the creation, performance, and study of music through awards, scholarships, commissions and grants. Tax-deductible donations to the Foundation come primarily from songwriters, composers and publishers, BMI employees and members of the public with a special interest in music. Because both the Foundation staff and the distinguished members of the Advisory Panel serve without compensation, over 95% of all donations and income are used for charitable grants.]]> 2006-06-01T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334787 Artists, Brubeck, Dave, Davis, Miles, Eubanks, Kevin, Hampton, Lionel, Hancock, Herbie, Holiday, Billie, Jones, Norah, Mingus, Charles, Monk, Thelonious, Parker, Charlie, Redman, Joshua, Watson, Bobby, Whitfield, Mark, Musical Styles, Jazz Jazz Appreciation Month, or JAM for short, kicked off this April with a special fifth anniversary ceremony held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by BMI and presented by the Smithsonian, the annual, month-long celebration pays tribute to this living art form by raising awareness of jazz and its history through performances, dance, film, programs and displays at the museum.

Donors gather with representatives of the national JAM partner, sponsor, and collaborator organizations. Back row: Jean Banks, BMI; Gale Monk; Thelonious Monk, Jr.; Dan Schuman, U.S. State Department; John Stevenson, Voice of America; Wayne Brown, National Endowment for the Humanities; Sandra Gibson, Association of Performing Arts Presenters; Mara Walker, Americans for the Arts; Cynthia Minnick, U.S. Department of Defense; Dwan Reese, National Endowment for the Humanities; Jennifer Adams, PBS; Barry Robinson, representing IAJE; Kristin Wilson, Association of Public Television Stations; Carol Sue Fromboluti, U.S. Department of Education; Patricia May, American Library Association. Front row: Dr. John Edward Hasse, National Museum of American History; Dr. Brent Glass, National Museum of American History; Fran Morris Rosman, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation; Dr. Jonathan D. Katz, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies; Roger Whitworth, representing the American Federation of Musicians and the Music Performance Fund; Herman Leonard; Paul Kerlin, MENC; Bill Pace, Chamber Music America; Cheryl Davis; Vince Wilburn, Jr.; Vince Wilburn, Sr. Smithsonian. Photo by Hugh Talman

On hand were the families of legendary BMI jazz artists Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk who donated objects and manuscripts from their estates. Jazz photographer Herman Leonard also donated some of his photographs.

"Jazz is truly an American form of music that has played and continues to play an important role in our history from its birth in the South in the late 1800s and early 1900s to its later fusion with other forms of popular music," said Brent D. Glass, Director of the National Museum of American History. "Through the museum's Jazz Appreciation Month activities, we highlight jazz and its significant history, while exposing audiences to this significant piece of American culture."

Miles Davis (1926-1991), a trumpeter and composer, helped pioneer a wide variety of jazz music from cool jazz to hard-pop to jazz-rock fusion, while becoming the most dominant figure in jazz during the second half of the 20th century. The seven-time Grammy award-winning artist began his career playing with jazz greats such as Charlie Parker, Benny Carter and Billy Eckstine, but he would go on to create his own distinct lyrical style that was often lonely and introspective. Davis recorded the best-selling jazz album in history, Kind of Blue (1959). Donations from the Davis family included a Versace suit that Davis wore during the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1991; a sheaf of parts for "Summertime," arranged for Davis by Gil Evans based on George Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess"; and an electronic wind instrument used by Davis.

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) is often regarded as one of the greatest composers in jazz history, creating such classics as "Round Midnight," "Blue Monk" and "Criss Cross." Credited with helping pioneer bebop as a form of jazz, he was also an accomplished pianist who created an iconic sound through unorthodox voicings and an unusual approach to rhythm. In 1964, Monk was featured on the cover of Time magazine-one of five jazz musicians to ever make the cover. He recently received a special posthumous citation from the Pulitzer Prize board. Donations from the Monk family included one of his iconic skull caps; a handwritten manuscript for "Four in One," which was first recorded in 1951; and other articles of clothing worn by Monk, including a jacket, vest and ties.

Jazz photographer Herman Leonard began his career in the 1940s in the jazz clubs of Broadway, 52nd Street and Harlem, N.Y. Throughout the years he developed relationships with and photographed many jazz greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. Leonard's extensive portfolio extends beyond jazz, though, as he has photographed other American icons like Albert Einstein, Harry S. Truman, Clark Gable and Marlon Brando. Leonard's donation consists of 20 black-and-white photographs, including images of Louis Armstrong, Holiday, Gillespie, Lena Horne and Tony Bennett.

The donated items join the museum's collection of memorabilia from other jazz musicians, including Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw and Ellington, and are showcased in a special display "Miles & Monk: New Jazz Acquisitions," which opened March 30.

April was chosen for JAM to honor the birthdays of such jazz legends as Ellington, Fitzgerald, Puente, Charles Mingus and Gerry Mulligan. Throughout the entire month, the museum highlights jazz music through concerts, programs and displays. Schools, colleges, museums, concert halls, libraries and public broadcasters are encouraged to offer special programs of their own every April.

The Smithsonian operates the world's most comprehensive set of jazz programs, including Jazz Appreciation Month. It collects jazz artifacts, documents, recordings and oral histories; curates exhibitions and traveling exhibitions; operates its own big band, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra; publishes books and recordings on jazz; offers fellowships for research in its collections; and offers concerts, educational workshops, master classes, lectures, seminars and symposia.

With an impressive roster of jazz legends that includes Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton and Charles Mingus, as well as today's new jazz stars like Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Kevin Eubanks, Joshua Redman, Mark Whitfield and Bobby Watson, BMI has supported jazz from the start and continues today with programs such as the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, the BMI Foundation's Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize and the BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Composers Competition.

Mariah Carey	Kanye West	John Legend

Mariah Carey's multi-platinum comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi, and its smash single "We Belong Together," helped the pop singer score three of the most coveted Grammy nominations: Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The hit ballad also picked up mentions for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, while Mimi added Best Contemporary R&B Album to Carey's haul.

Presenters for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards nominations included BMI songwriter/artists John Legend, CeCe Winans, Mariah Carey, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and Patti LaBelle. Photo by S. Lovekin/WireImage

Rapper Kanye West continued his red hot streak, also earning nominations in the Album and Record of the Year categories with his sophomore release Late Registration and the hit "Gold Digger," respectively. He will compete against himself for the Album of the Year title as a producer on Carey's disc. As a songwriter, West will battle for the Best Rap Song crown with his "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," as well as Best R&B Song as a co-writer on the Alicia Keys track "Unbreakable."

Black Eyed Peas	Brooks & Dunn

Soul singer John Legend is up for Best New Artist, Best R&B Album for his debut Get Lifted, and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Song of the Year for "Ordinary People," which he also co-wrote. Legend joins his mentor Kanye West and rapper Common on the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ticket with "They Say."

Casting Crowns	Common

Coming in with six nominations was Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas who, as a songwriter, has a shot at Song of the Year and Best R&B Song as co-writer of Legend's "Ordinary People" and Best Rap Song for the Peas' hit "Don't Phunk with My Heart." The band is also up for Best Rap and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Death Cab for Cutie	Foo Fighters

In addition to Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Common earned three other mentions, including Best Rap Album for Be. Four nods also went to Foo Fighters, Gorillaz, Billy Childs and BMI producer/songwriters the Neptunes, who have production credits on two Album of the Year nominees -- Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi and Gwen Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

The Game	Gorillaz	John Williams

Earning three nominations apiece were Sheryl Crow, with Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Good is Good"), Best Pop Vocal Album (Wildflower) and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for the single "Building Bridges," featuring Brooks & Dunn and Vince Gill; Eminem (Best Rap Solo Performance, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rap Album); and film composer John Williams, up for Best Score for Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, as well as for Best Instrumental Composition for both "Anakin's Betrayal" (from Revenge of the Sith) and "The Ferry Scene" (from the War of the Worlds soundtrack).

Maroon 5	Norah Jones	Sheryl Crow

Double nominees included rappers The Game and T.I., songwriter Marcus Hummon, singer Norah Jones and gospel diva CeCe Winans.

Other BMI songwriters and artists collecting Grammy nominations were Christina Aguilera, Dallas Austin, Casting Crowns, Eric Clapton (PRS), Death Cab for Cutie, Paquito D'Rivera, Danny Elfman, Fall Out Boy, Osvaldo Golijov, Dave Holland Big Band, Intocable, Keane (PRS), Maroon 5, Sugarland, Ying Yang Twins, and BMI Icons Charlie Daniels and Brian Wilson.

Sugarland		T.I.

The 48th Annual Grammy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on February 8.

BMI's 2006 Grammy Award Nominees:

8 NOMINATIONS
Mariah Carey
John Legend
Kanye West

6 NOMINATIONS
William Adams

4 NOMINATIONS
Billy Childs
Common
Foo Fighters
Gorillaz (PRS)
The Neptunes

3 NOMINATIONS
Yolanda Adams
The Black Eyed Peas
Sheryl Crow
De La Soul
Eminem
Herbie Hancock
Faith Hill
Alison Krauss & Union Station
John Williams

2 NOMINATIONS
Bobby Boyd
Brooks & Dunn
Andrew Coleman
Andrew Dawson
Dixie Chicks
The Game
Michael Giacchino
Jeff Hanna
Marcus Hummon
Norah Jones
Delbert McClinton
Donnie McClurkin
Joel Moss
Willie Nelson
Al Schmitt
Fat Man Scoop
T.I.
The White Stripes
CeCe Winans

MORE NOMINEES
Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra with Arturo O'Farrill
Christina Aguilera
Trey Anastasio
Audio Adrenaline
Audioslave
John August
Dallas Austin
Ramon Ayala y Sus Bravos Del Norte
Marcia Ball
Ray Barretto
Steve Berkowitz
Big & Rich
Terence Blanchard
Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones
Blue Highway
Printz Board
William Bolcom
Peter Boyer
Solomon Burke
Burning Spear (PRS)
Sam Bush
Gary Calamar
Caribbean Jazz Project featuring Dave Samuels Orishas (SACEM)
Kurt Carr
Casting Crowns
Christopher Cerf
Steven Curtis Chapman
Cherryholmes
The Chieftains (IMRO)
Willy Chirino
Eric Clapton (PRS)
Dorinda Clark-Cole
Conjunto Progreso
Ry Cooder
Stewart Copeland
The Crabb Family
Robert Cray
Bill Cunliffe
Rivers Cuomo
Daft Punk (PRS)
Charlie Daniels
Day of Fire
Death Cab for Cutie
Deep Dish
Mos Def
Jack De Johnette
The Del McCoury Band
Ani DiFranco
Jerry Douglas
Dave Douglas
Paquito D'Rivera
John Du Prez (PRS)
Jerry Duplessis
Nokie Edwards
Danny Elfman
Ahmet Ertegun
Bill Evans
Fall Out Boy
Sammy Figueroa
Béla Fleck
Floetry
David Foster
Jamie Foxx
Aretha Franklin
Kirk Franklin
Carlos Franzetti
Larry Gatlin
Joachim Garraud (SACEM)
Gilberto Gil
Vince Gill
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Osvaldo Golijov
The Grascals
Grits
Buddy Guy
Merle Haggard
John Hammond
Raiatea Helm
Dave Holland Big Band
Israel Houghton
Van Hunt
Eric Idle (PRS)
Intocable
Jamiroquai (PRS)
Jars of Clay
The Jazz Chamber Trio
Rodney Jerkins
Eric Johnson
George Jones
The Jordanaires
Ledward Ka'apana
Keane (PRS)
John P. Kee
Garison Keillor
Toby Keith
R. Kelly
B.B. King
Kitaro
Kraftwerk (GEMA)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo (SAMRO)
Las 3 Divas
La Secta Allstar
The Last Poets
La Tropa F
Donald Lawrence
Ricky Lewis
The Light Crust Doughboys
Lil Wayne
Harold Lily
Aaron Lindsey
Linkin Park
Little Joe
Los Lonely Boys
Los Pleneros de la 21
Andre Lyon
Maroon 5
Joeworn Martin
Martina McBride
Delbert McClinton
Vicky McGehee
Tim McGraw
Sarah McLachlan (SOCAN)
Meat Beat Manifesto
Pat Metheny Group
Luis Miguel
Mingus Big Band
Ministry
Keb Mo
Molotov
Rick Moranis (SOCAN)
Mudvayne
Martha Munizzi
Walter Murphy
Meshell Ndegeocello
North Mississippi Allstars
The Oak Ridge Boys
Claus Ogerman (GEMA)
Walter Ostanek (SOCAN)
George Pajon, Jr.
Eddie Palmieri
John Prine
Queens of the Stone Age
Rascal Flatts
Joshua Redman Elastic Band
Sonny Rollins
The Royal Jesters
Eddie Santiago
Marvin Sapp
Seal (PRS)
José Serebrier
Shakira
Wayne Shorter Quartet
Ron Sluga
Omar Sosa
Luciana Souza
Jimmy Sturr
Sugarland
Tierney Sutton
System of a Down
Ali Farka Touré (BUMDA)
Tiempo Libre
Turtle Island String Quartet
Keith Urban
Bebo Valdés
Marcello Valenzano
Louie Vega
Rhonda Vincent & the Rage
Brian Wilson
BeBe Winans
George Winston
Paul Winter Consort
Hugh Wolff
David Yazbek
Ying Yang Twins

Click here for more on BMI and Jazz Music

JAM's mission is to draw greater public attention to the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz and its importance as an American cultural heritage. In addition, JAM is intended to stimulate the current jazz scene and encourage people of all ages to participate in jazz-to study the music, attend concerts, listen to jazz on radio and recordings, read books about jazz, and support institutional jazz programs.

As a long-time supporter of jazz music and jazz education programs, BMI is proud to be an anchor sponsor of Jazz Appreciation Month for the third consecutive year. Other partners and sponsors include the U.S. Department of Education, MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), the Grammy Foundation, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, PBS and the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.

April was chosen for JAM to honor the birthdays of such jazz legends as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Tito Puente, Charles Mingus and Gerry Mulligan, and to give school ensembles time to develop and rehearse concerts that can be tied into the event. On August 18, 2003, President George W. Bush signed Public Law 108-72, which urges organizations to develop programs "to explore, perpetuate, and honor jazz as a national and world treasure." In addition, governors in several states have signed proclamations declaring April to be Jazz Appreciation Month; they include Governor Mike Easley of North Carolina, Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania, Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin and Mayor Anthony Williams of the District of Columbia (to be announced April 2).

The Smithsonian operates the world's most comprehensive set of jazz programs-it collects jazz artifacts, documents, recordings, and oral histories; curates exhibitions and traveling exhibitions; operates its own big band, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra; publishes books and recordings on jazz; offers fellowships for research in its collections; and offers concerts, educational workshops, master classes, lectures, seminars, and symposia.

With a impressive roster of jazz legends that includes Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton and Charles Mingus, as well as today's new jazz stars like Norah Jones, Kevin Eubanks, Joshua Redman, Mark Whitfield and Bobby Watson, BMI has supported jazz from the start and continues today with programs such as the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, the BMI Foundation/Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize, and the BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Composers Competition.]]> 2004-03-29T17:00:01-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233060 Carter, Ron, Davis, Miles, McNeely, Jim, Redman, Joshua, Christian, Country, Gospel, Jazz, Important, International by Steve Dollar

Born with the century - the 20th century, that is - the most uniquely American of music forms is finally getting its own month, a full hundred years into a history as lively and complex as the nation that spawned it.

April marks the first annual national Jazz Appreciation Month, a project launched by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, backed  by a hefty group of partners, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education, MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the International Association of Jazz Educators, the Grammy Foundation and the U.S. Department of State. BMI is a sponsor of Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM for short), as is the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation.

"Every April, I'd love to see the country riff, swing, boogie and bop to the syncopated strains of jazz,"says John Edward Hasse, curator of American music at the museum. As Hasse explains, the month of April was chosen to honor the birthdays of such jazz legends as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Tito Puente, Charles Mingus and Gerry Mulligan, among others. "Jazz is a great national treasure - arguably our greatest cultural export to the rest of the world and one of the things that future centuries will judge best about America in the 20th century."

That's a key reason Hasse sought to create Jazz Appreciation Month, which arrives a year after the Louis Armstrong centenary and the marathon broadcast of Ken Burns's epic documentary Jazz. Throughout April, the museum will spotlight jazz through concerts, programs and museum collections. Schools, colleges, museums, concert halls, libraries and public broadcasters will be encouraged to observe the month with programs of their own. SmithsonianJazz.org has been launched, bringing attention to a diverse range of jazz programs and archives at the museum, as well as complete events scheduled for Jazz Appreciation Month.

The Smithsonian's role in archiving and promoting various elements of jazz history has been crucial to the music's legacy. The National Museum of American History is home to the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, more than 100 oral histories of musicians, composers and others, and 100,000 pages of Ellington's unpublished music. The archives host such totems of jazz lore as Ella Fitzgerald's signature red dress, Dizzy Gillespie's oddly tilted trumpet and Benny Goodman's clarinet. "Thirty years ago, [critic and curator] Martin Williams put together the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, which became a cornerstone,"Hasse says. "The Smithsonian runs the world's most comprehensive set of jazz programs."

Stressing the non-commercial, grassroots nature of the event, Hasse hopes to encourage local initiatives that will make Jazz Appreciation Month not merely a focus for the museum, but a true nationwide celebration. "We hope that jazz societies, libraries, museums and performing arts centers will add related programming to their lineups in April,"he says. "Symphonies could get involved that are looking for more diversity in their programs. What music is more culturally diverse than jazz?"Hasse adds that one reason for April was to give high school ensembles time to develop and rehearse concerts that can be tied into the event. "We really wanted this to be during the school year,"he says. "Our goal for the first year is to build awareness of the event, and our core for doing that is jazz educators and music educators."

The concept of jazz appreciation is at a ripe moment, but Hasse knows it will take time for the event to develop. "I was deeply admiring of Black History Month (which is February), and all the good it has done for its subject. It became a model. But when Carter G. Woodson initiated it 75 years ago, it was known as Negro History Week. It's really grown."

Observes Ron Carter, the esteemed bassist who was part of Miles Davis's great 1960s quintet, "It's a necessary event. All the different musics get a chance to show what they do in a much larger format than jazz. We take what we can get. When I was young, Black History Month seemed like it was only one or two days. And that was 40 years ago when there was no e-mail. Given the proportion of new media going around, hopefully there will be enough [coverage] of Jazz Appreciation Month events to heighten people's awareness."

Adds soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, "Anything - anything that brings attention to the performance of jazz is a good thing. We're struggling. If this is what it takes to do it, yeah, let's make a month out of it. Make it semi-annual! It's just the beginning. All these organizations can put their heads together to create momentum. You can't just expect people to automatically become interested in jazz, you have to lobby them."

Hasse lauds BMI's involvement in the event, which he views a wholly appropriate. "We're delighted that BMI, which has such a large and important involvement in jazz, is a sponsor - and was an early and enthusiastic sponsor."

As a musical director for BMI's Jazz Composer Workshop, pianist Jim McNeely is often at the center of debates about the music's history and its future. And while he's wary of efforts to make the music somehow sanitized or official - the problem a lot of viewers had with Burns's 19-hour Jazz - he sees the effort as a another positive step toward giving jazz its due. "To get a whole month at the Smithsonian, it's a great boost for the music,"he says. "Ironically, it's a great boost for the musicians who are no longer with us, the people who invented this stuff."

Tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, who presides as artistic director for San Francisco's SF Jazz spring concert series, finds the concept of Jazz Appreciation Month to be a timely one. "The public has been primed a little bit, especially over the past year. The idea of jazz, while it's not on the tip of people's minds, is no longer in the deep recesses," he says. "More and more, you're seeing established, major arts institutions embracing jazz and starting to program jazz in their communities. The more that happens, the better it's going to be, and the more we can get the music to the people."

Yet as much as Corea has been a major force for musical progression, he has also built that impetus on a deep musical foundation, and paid tribute to his forebears and influences on such recent albums as Remembering Bud Powell, with guests like Roy Haynes, Kenny Garrett, Joshua Redman, Wallace Roney and Christian McBride, and The Mozart Sessions, recorded with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with Bobby McFerrin conducting.

It's all part of Corea's underlying philosophy about music. "Styles of music can be total red herrings when it comes to understanding what elements make up any music one comes across," he explains. "A musical culture is always formed by ideas and creations that originate from individual artists and then are nurtured, developed, enhanced, edited, added to, turned upside down and generally altered to fit a particular artist's needs and desires."

And in that spirit, Corea has continued to create music in any number of formats with a variety of approaches. Recent years have found him returning to the acoustic piano after decades as an electric keyboard icon, first with the group Origin, which Corea refers to as his "small orchestra," and lately in his New Trio with the Origin rhythm section of bassist Avishai Cohen and drummer Jeff Ballard, dubbed "my intimate ensemble" by its leader. Since 1992, Corea has also run his own label, Stretch, with longtime manager Ron Moss, releasing not only his own CDs but also albums by Roney, Cohen, Robben Ford, Eddie Gomez, Jason Lidner and others.

Corea's latest release for the label, Past, Present & Futures, reflects his breadth of vision with a Fats Waller song, explorations of the music of Spain, Morocco, Egypt, the Middle East and Latin America that have long influenced Corea's compositions, and a Corea original, "Fingerprints," that tips its hat to the song "Footprints" written by Corea's peer and former Miles Davis bandmate Wayne Shorter.

It's been more than 40 years since Corea dropped out of Columbia University after spending every night for two weeks at Birdland soaking up musical inspiration that still feed his muse. And the lesson he has learned over that time, as Corea told a Berklee College of Music graduating class he addressed in 1997, is that following one's creative impulses is the source of genuine success. "It's all right to be yourself," he urges other musicians, "In fact, the more yourself you are, the more money you make."

By Rob Patterson

From the dawning days of rhythm & blues through today's multifaceted urban music scene, BMI has been at the forefront of music from the African American tradition, styles and community. A continuity of teamwork between BMI and Black music-makers extends from Aretha Franklin to Janet Jackson, from Motown hitmakers Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland to R. Kelly, and from Miles Davis to Terence Blanchard.

B.B. King

Busta Rhymes

Janet Jackson

Eminem

When r&b, in its formative years, was the province of budding independent labels, small publishers, and adventurous radio stations, BMI opened its ranks to the musical movement when the existing performing rights organization failed to recognize the legitimacy and potential brewing in Black American music. The considerable fact that 90 percent of the R&B Foundation's Pioneer Awards have been bestowed on BMI artists attests to BMI's historical commitment to Black music.

Eric Benet

Macy Gray

Mariah Carey

Michael Jackson

The BMI Black music rosters reads like a musical honor role: Jazz giants such as Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Dinah Washington and John Coltrane; blues icons like Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and T-Bone Walker; r&b pacesetters such as Ray Charles, Fats Domino and James Brown; soul sisters Etta James, Irma Thomas and Diana Ross; rock pioneers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Mya

R. Kelly

Snoop Dogg

Toni Braxton

The BMI bloodlines can be traced from then to now, from Carla Thomas to Donna Summer to Vanessa Williams, from Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff to LA Reid and Babyface, from Otis Redding to Michael Jackson. And if you check this space 20 or 30 years from now, the odds say its likely that BMI's contemporary urban music artists will be just as legendary and influential as those BMI has represented throughout the history of Black popular music in America.

In a sense, the pages have already been written by today's BMI star talents. Mariah Carey has proven herself a formidable and enduring presence in popular music, while Macy Gray is arising to help bring soul back to its rightful place of presence in urban music. Kevin Eubanks delivers sublime new variations of the jazz guitar heritage to millions on The Tonight Show, and Joshua Redman redefines the notion of young jazz giant for a new millennium. Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Lil' Kim continue to push the hip-hop envelope, while Kirk Franklin and Winans Phase 2 keep the gospel spirit alive.

But it's not just the marquee names that make these exciting times for BMI's urban music roster. And even some of BMI's team whose work happens primarily behind the scenes are earning public note on the level of the artists they work with. Producer, songwriter, keyboardist and remixer Dallas Austin launched Monica and TLC, and counts Michael Jackson, Madonna, Boyz II Men and Aretha Franklin among his credits. Such musical versatility and vision continues with such recording and writing powerhouses as Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis, Master P, Tim & Bob, SoulShock & Karlin, Jean Claude 'Poke' Olivier of The Track Masters, Organized Noise, Teddy Bishop and Cory Rooney - all drawing from a differing wealth of musical wells and creating new and innovative musical moments.

Hip-hop remains a powerfully progressive and sometimes provocative movement in modern popular music. Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes and Goodie Mob keep it real, and the beats and themes will surely remain hard in the hands of such acts as Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Ja Rule, Mos Def, Trick Daddy, Silkk the Shocker, JT Money, Kurupt and J-Shin. At the same time, acts like The Roots, Black Eyed Peas, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek and Spooks infuse a rich mixture of styles into the hip-hop genre. Once the sound of the street, just as r&b had been, hip-hop is now an integral part of contemporary culture. And its Caribbean cousin dancehall is also claiming the attention of the public ear thanks to Buju Banton.

R&B has always boasted its powerful cadre of female singers. And just as Carla Thomas, Martha Reeves and Jodi Whatley established their voices as trademarks, so have the women like Brandy, Toni Braxton and Faith Evans. Rising to join them are such soul sisters as Angie Stone, Mya, Sunshine Anderson and Aaliyah, while R&B brothers such as Eric Benet and Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes stir up new soul traditions for today's urban music fans as Clyde McPhatter, Sam Moore and Aaron Neville have before them. The girl group traditions forged by The Shirelles and The Supremes find modern expression in the "new jill flava" of Total.

As the recent Ken Burns documentary demonstrated, jazz is one of the richest skeins in the American cultural tapestry. BMI has been a consistent presence in jazz, from Lionel Hampton to Coleman Hawkins to Herbie Hancock to Roy Hargrove. Today, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, Kevin Eubanks and Bilal maintain the instrumental and compositional greatness of jazz music for the genre's future.

Spirituals have always been an essential element in Black music and BMI's mission, thanks to everyone from James Ingram to The Fairfield Four. And perhaps nobody has had a more profound impact on contemporary music and the popularity of spiritual sounds than minister, songwriter, producer and visionary Kirk Franklin. In the past, one could make similar claims for The Winans, and the family tradition forged there is carried on by Winans Phase 2. The ears reached by these artists are now opening as well to such rising talents as Yolanda Adams and Trin-i-tee 5:7.

Such diversity, commercial impact, innovation and encouragement of burgeoning styles and new artists has been a hallmark of BMI's commitment to Black music from the time that "race music" became rhythm & blues, and on through soul, funk and disco right up to rap and new jack swing. As BMI salutes tradition through its longtime support of the R&B Foundation, it also helps create the future that is urban music in all its breadth and creativity. Because at BMI, Black Music Month is celebrated 12 months a year.