“It’s all about the real Latin groove and the dancer,” explains the Latin Grammy winner. Paying homage to the stars of salsa, from Celia Cruz and Willie Colon to Ruben Blades and The Fania All Stars, Torres integrates a wealth of musical influences into a heady mélange of effortless melody and fiery rhythms that echo Cuban dance music, Puerto Rican bomba and plena, the Brazilian samba, merengue from the Dominican Republic, Colombia cumbia and the rhythms of Panama, all ingredients in the rich stew that heated up in New York to become modern-day salsa.

Joined by a group of talented young musicians, Torres tracked half of the project in Puerto Rico. “To record live, and to do so in Puerto Rico, is a real homecoming for me,” he enthuses. “It was like it used to be, when everybody recorded at the same time, before ProTools. But, we also kept the production state of the art, using the latest technology to create music that moves forward, pointing the way to a future where that which is universal transcends today’s tendency to taste the ‘flavor of the minute’.”

Salsa is the soul of Nouveau Latino, says Torres. “The blessing of having been part of the New York salsa scene at its best cannot be expressed in words. Finally, the time is right for me to celebrate and share with my fans — and the world — a part of the legacy I owe so much to.”

Dan Kimpel

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 Guitar title. Top honors went to Keith Jarrett, who was inducted in Downbeat’s Hall of Fame; Michael Brecker’s Pilgrimage received the Jazz Album honor and B.B. King received the Blues Artist title. Additional instrumentalists honored include Herbie Hancock (Piano), James Carter (Baritone Saxophone), Steve Turre (Trombone) and Miles Davis (Historical Album).

BMI’s Downbeat Readers Poll winners:

Keith Jarrett
Hall of Fame

Sonny Rollins
Tenor Saxophone
Jazz Artist

Michael Brecker
Jazz Album

Miles Davis
Historical Album

Pat Metheny Trio
Jazz Group

Pat Metheny
Guitar

Steve Turre
Trombone

Wayne Shorter
Soprano Saxophone

Phil Woods
Alto Saxophone

James Carter
Baritone Saxophone

Paquito D’ Rivera
Clarinet

James Moody
Flute

Herbie Hancock
Piano

Joey DeFrancesco
Organ

Chick Corea
Electric Keyboard/Synthesizer

Christian McBride
Acoustic Bass

Steve Swallow
Electric Bass

Jack DeJohnette
Drums

Poncho Sanchez
Percussion

Bobby Hutcherson
Vibes

Toots Theilemans
Miscellaneous Instrument

Kurt Elling
Vocals

B.B. King
Blues Artist/Group

The Acoustic Lounge is one of many opportunities BMI offers to artists to showcase their talent in front of their peers and a supportive audience. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun, offering a great opportunity to network with other aspiring and working singer/songwriters. For established writers, it provides a chance to monitor new musical trends and be involved in the grass-roots/DIY musical movement.

BMI’s Casey Robison and Delia Orjuela; Putman Murdock; Ramy; Benton Paul; Scott Reams; and BMI’s Marissa Lopez and Myles Lewis.

Putman Murdock, Benton Paul and Ramy

Other top award winners were songwriters Amund Bjørklund and Espen Lind (both members of Norwegian performing right society TONO and represented in the U.S. by BMI), along with Ne-Yo, who received the prestigious Robert S. Musel Award for Song of the Year for Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable.” The song is published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd./Stellar Songs Ltd.; the song and songwriters also received the BMI Urban Song of the Year prize earlier this year.

Modest Mouse’s “Dashboard” earned BMI’s College Song of the Year crown for tallying the most performances on American college radio. The infectious lead single off the band’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank album, “Dashboard” was co-written by Johnny Marr (PRS), Tom "King Sour" Peloso and Joe Plummer and published by Chrysalis Music.

The BMI Dance Award went to Ian Dench and Amanda Ghost (PRS) for “Beautiful Liar,” recorded by genre-bending combo Beyoncé and Shakira. “Beautiful Liar” was published by Bucks Music Group Ltd. (PRS), EMI Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS) and Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS).

Prestigious “Million-Air” certificates were also presented throughout the evening in recognition of those songs that have achieved more than three million U.S. radio and television performances — the equivalent of more than 17 years of continuous airplay. The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” co-penned by Sir Mick Jagger (PRS) and Keith Richards (PRS), and Eric Clapton’s (PRS) “Layla,” co-written by Clapton and Jim Gordon, both topped the list with seven million performances each, while John Lennon’s (PRS) self-penned “Imagine” was recognized for six million performances. Five-million performance honorees included “Higher Love” co-penned by Steve Winwood (PRS) and Will Jennings; Graham Lyle’s (PRS) “What’s Love Got To Do With It”; and “You Really Got Me,” composed by BMI Icon Ray Davies (PRS). BMI Icon Steve Winwood also composed two more songs in the list: “Gimme Some Loving” (4 million) co-written by Muff Winwood and Spencer Davies (both PRS), and “Valerie” (3 million) which was also co-written by Will Jennings.

Additional award-winners whose compositions soared past the three million performance mark included Shania Twain (PRS), Graham Gouldman (PRS), The Bee Gees’ Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb (all PRS), Sir Paul McCartney (PRS), Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Roxette’s Per Gessle (STIM), Mats Persson (STIM), Paul Herman (PRS), Mort Shuman (SACEM), Wally Badarou (SACEM), Stig Anderson (STIM), and ABBA’s Benny Andersson (STIM) and Björn Ulvaeus (BUMA).

In addition to winning Dance Song of the Year, “Beautiful Liar” garnered BMI Pop and Urban Awards for writers Ian Dench and Amanda Ghost (both PRS); Dench and Ghost also scored Pop Awards for Jordin Sparks’ “Tattoo,” and College Song of the Year “Dashboard” garnered Pop Awards for its creative hive. Kanye West’s “Stronger,” co-written by West, Thomas Bangalter (PRS), Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (PRS) and Michael Dean, earned awards in both Pop and Urban categories as well, as did Song of the Year “Irreplaceable.” Iconic rocker Pete Townsend (PRS) garnered three awards in the TV Music Awards field, while KT Tunstall (PRS) and Julieta Venegas (SGAE) each secured two awards in the Pop and Latin fields, respectively. Composers Rupert Gregson-Williams and George Fenton (both PRS), also earned two awards each: Gregson-Williams in the Film category and Fenton in Film and Emmy Award-winning divisions.

A complete list of award winners is available here.

For more information, go to dejazzfest.org.

For more information, go to dejazzfest.org.

For more information, go to dejazzfest.org.