Writers who have appeared in the past include Norah Jones, Vanessa Carlton, Lisa Loeb, Avril Lavigne, John Oats, Gavin Degraw, and Charlotte Sometimes. Kate Voegele, winner of the Circle's 2006 contest, is currently starring in the hit tv show One Tree Hill and her new video is currently on MTV's TRL. Company of Thieves, winners of the 2007 contest, were recently named "one of the top bands to watch for in 2008" by the Chicago Daily Herald.

The Grand Prize includes $5,000 cash, a chance to perform at Madison Square Garden as part of The New York Songwriters Circle/New York Titans Concert series and professional recording studio sessions at Dubway Studios, up to a maximum of $1,000.

Second Prize is $3,000 and third place will receive $1,500. Additionally, a special International Award of $1000 will be awarded to a writer who originates from anywhere in the world outside the U.S.

All 12 finalists will receive:

• An opportunity to perform as part of the Circle's showcase series in New York City or Philadelphia.
• An opportunity to have their song included on NYSC’s compilation CD release.
• A feature on songwriters-circle.com

Deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2008. For more information about the contest, the list of judges, sponsors, prizes, and to submit your music, visit songwriters-circle.com.

Check out live photos from the event

Full BMI Grammy Award Winners List

Unable to attend the ceremony due to a tardy issuance of her visa, Winehouse watched, accepted awards and performed twice via satellite in London. Her innate vintage cool and authentic emotion echoed through her performances of Record and Song of the Year, “Rehab,” along with “I’m No Good.” After claiming the most Grammys of any artist throughout the evening, including Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, Winehouse’s ubiquitous artistic shadow was most certainly in attendance.

Charismatic rap star Kanye West further emphasized his staying power with wins in Rap Album and Solo Rap Performance of the Year. Honored both as a songwriter and recording artist, West also earned Rap Song of the Year bragging rights for “Good Life.” In addition to garnering accolades for his solo work, West claimed Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his collaboration with Common on “Southside.”

“What a beautiful day this is in Los Angeles!” Herbie Hancock’s visible surprise while accepting his Album of the Year trophy provided a sublimely extemporaneous moment during the telecast. The first jazz project in 43 years to win Album of the Year, Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters features collaborations with numerous contemporary stylists, including Norah Jones and Corinne Bailey Rae. The project also garnered Best Contemporary Jazz Album honors.

BMI’s preeminent rock family enjoyed a successful night as well. The unfaltering Foo Fighters took home Best Hard Rock Performance honors for driving single “The Pretender,” while their Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace earned Rock Album of the Year. Critical darlings and rock purists The White Stripes claimed Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the title track to Icky Thump, which also garnered Best Alternative Album bragging rights for the enigmatic duo.

Beloved jazz saxophonist and composer Michael Brecker received posthumous awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (Individual or Group) and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. Perennial favorites The Clark Sisters also secured honors for Best Gospel Performance and Best Gospel Song.

Additional winners included Carrie Underwood for Best Female and Keith Urban for Best Male Country Vocal Performances; Calle 13 for Best Latin Urban Album; Ray Price and Willie Nelson for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals; Juan Luis Guerra for Best Tropical Latin Album; Vince Gill’s These Days for Best Country Album; Rihanna’s “Umbrella” for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; Maroon 5 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; and Alison Krauss for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Pictured at the New York screening are (l-r): BMI’s Samantha Cox, Jesse Harris, Dan Foliart and BMI’s Charlie Feldman.

Harris and Hawke assembled a group of artists including Norah Jones, Cat Power and Willie Nelson to record Harris’s songs for the soundtrack, performed in both English and Spanish. The soundtrack will be released through Hickory Records.

Shown in Los Angeles are (l-r): BMI’s Linda Livingston, Jessie Harris, Rocha and Dan Foliart.

Harris, who appears in the movie, has known Hawke since the early 1990s and has released six albums as a solo artist. His songs have been recorded by Madeleine Peyroux, Pat Metheny, and Lizz Wright, and, in 2003, he won a Song of the Year Grammy, for writing Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why." The Hottest State is an adaptation from Hawke’s own novel of the same name, which centers on the high and lows of first love.

Founded and directed by singer/songwriter Tina Shafer, The New York Songwriters Circle has been at the forefront of discovering songwriting talent for over 17 years. With over $10,000 in cash and prizes, it is one of New York's premier venues for new, independent songwriters from all over the world.

Deadline for submissions is September 30, 2007. For more information please visit www.songwriters-circle.com.

In a career that lasted more than four decades, Mardin collected numerous awards, including 12 Grammys, and his many recordings earned him more than 40 gold and platinum albums. Honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) with a Trustee Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2001, he played a vital role in the careers of such diverse artists as Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, Willie Nelson, Dusty Springfield and Norah Jones.

We are deeply saddened by the news of Arif's passing," said BMI President & CEO Del Bryant. "A member of the BMI family for more than 40 years, he made an indelible mark on our industry, crafting countless hits across virtually every musical genre. He will be remembered as one of the true giants in the history of recorded music."

Arif Mardin was born on March 15, 1932, in Istanbul, Turkey. Trained in economics but also a composer, arranger and orchestrator, Mardin's life changed in 1956 when he met Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones at a Turkish concert. So impressed were they by his compositions, Jones recommended Mardin for a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass., where Mardin studied from 1958 to 1961.

Mardin joined Atlantic Records in 1963 as an assistant to Neshui Ertegun, who supervised the jazz division. When music legend and Atlantic label head Jerry Wexler heard some of Mardin's arrangements for King Curtis at a BMI Awards event, he recognized an untapped in-house talent. He quickly became, in Wexler's words, a "super pro" and "soulful Turkish eminence."

During his association with Atlantic, Mardin arranged and helped to produce such outstanding artists as the Young Rascals, Hall & Oates, Bette Midler, Robert Flack, John Prine, Donnie Hathaway and the Average White Band. He was made a Vice President of the label in 1969 and retired in 2001.

Later successes followed with albums by Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart, Barbara Streisand and Diana Ross, among many others. One of his last major achievements was the breakthrough release by Norah Jones in 2003.

Of his associate, Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun said, "In a business driven by trend and fashion, Arif has remained a true artist, a man of incredible musical talent."

Mardin is survived by his wife, Latife, a novelist and playwright; his son, Joe, a producer and arranger; and two daughters, Julie and Nazan Joffre.]]> 2006-06-26T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/533323 Cobain, Kurt, Foo Fighters, Grohl, Dave, Hawkins, Taylor, Jones, John Paul, Jones, Norah, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Rock, Feature The Foo Fighters‘ career has been, as even its members concede, an unlikely one. Starting out with a handful of self-recorded demos never meant for release, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has grown the group into one of rock’s most energizing and accessible acts, scoring Best Rock Album Grammys for two consecutive releases (1999’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose and 2002’s One By One) and selling out concerts around the world.
To celebrate its 10 th year of existence—and to thank its numerous fans—Grohl hit upon the plan to make its fifth album, In Your Honor (RCA), a double disc. And if that wasn’t enough, he decided the album would be evenly split between one hard rocking set and one acoustic, more introspective one.
“By splitting the difference,” he explains, “you eliminate the middle ground. We can make the acoustic record far more delicate and beautiful and atmospheric than anything we’ve ever done, and we can make the rock record far more brutal and aggressive and powerful than anything from our past. I’ve always sort of believed we were capable of doing both—just not as well as this has turned out.”
Indeed, In Your Honor has received critical hosannas across the board, with comparisons to Led Zeppelin’s double album Physical Graffiti making practically de rigueur appearances in reviews. Ranging from the intensely personal single “Best of You” and the throbbing title track, to quieter numbers like “Still” and “Friend of a Friend”—the latter apparently a tribute to the late Kurt Cobain—the release comes off as two very distinct records, albeit of one dedicated mind.
“Everyone in the band has so much to offer,” Grohl says of fellow Foos Nate Mendel (bass), Taylor Hawkins (drums) and Chris Shiflett (guitar). “But we’d sort of remained in this one ‘thing’ for so long that I felt it was time to break out, to branch out, that maybe we should make the acoustic record. But then this band just has to make some rock music so I thought, ‘Okay, why don’t we do this? Why don’t we make a double album?’”
Throw in an impressive range of guest stars—from Norah Jones on “Virginia Moon” and Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme on “Razor” to Zep’s own John Paul Jones on “Miracle” and “Another Round,” and you have a work that’s musically beefy yet also just fun to listen to, as is the case with the best of the Foos.
“In 20 years, when some kid asks his dad, ‘You ever hear of Foo Fighters? Which record should I get?’ they should say In Your Honor,” Grohl affirms. “I want people to say, ‘Wow, that’s the album they’ll be remembered for’.”

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.