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GRAMMYs

Herbie Hancock

Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

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Herbie Hancock Is An Ambassador Of Goodwill And Jazz

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Legendary GRAMMY-winning jazz artist discusses his role as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador and the launch of the inaugural International Jazz Day on April 30
Neil Tesser
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Touring the world with his quartet; consulting with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the Carolyn and Bill Powers creative chair for jazz; serving as chairman of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz; and producing major project albums such as The Imagine Project and River: The Joni Letters, the latter of which won the GRAMMY for Album Of The Year in 2007 (one of his 14 GRAMMYs) — it's not as if Herbie Hancock needed something else on his résumé.

But when the opportunity arose for the 72-year-old pianist to become a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, there was no way he could turn it down. His first major initiative after accepting the post last July was the establishment of International Jazz Day, which will take place on April 30 each year. Coinciding with the designation of April as Jazz Appreciation Month in the United States, International Jazz Day seeks to utilize jazz as an educational and diplomatic tool throughout the world.

Joined by a bevy of jazz luminaries, Hancock will kick off the inaugural International Jazz Day festivities on April 27 with a daylong series of educational programs and concerts at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris. On April 30 the celebration will move to New Orleans, and that evening to the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York, where Hancock will preside over a constellation of jazz and world music stars. The list includes vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Dianne Reeves; bassists Marcus Miller and Esperanza Spalding; drummer Jack DeJohnette; trumpeters Wynton Marsalis and Hugh Masekela (of South Africa); saxophonist Wayne Shorter; pianists Danilo Perez (Panama) and Hiromi Uehara (Japan); percussionist Zakir Hussain (India); vocalist Angelique Kidjo (Republic of Benin); blues couple Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi; and classical pianist Lang Lang (China).

In advance of the festivities, the legendary artist discussed his appointment as goodwill ambassador and the goals for International Jazz Day.

How did your UNESCO appointment come about in the first place?
I first connected with UNESCO about eight years ago, when the Monk Institute was asked to put together a performance for an annual event at UNESCO's headquarters. We did that for three or four years, and during that time I got to know [UNESCO Senior Advisor] Mika Shino at UNESCO, and whenever we talked it was like a brainstorming session. Somehow the idea came up of me being appointed goodwill ambassador — and just the fact that she would come up with that blew me away. It took another four or five years for the whole thing to transpire.

What do you hope the International Jazz Day activities will accomplish?
I'm not really bound by anything, but when I signed on I had to give a short phrase that would kind of capture my intentions. And I said then, "I hope to use dialogue and culture as a means of bringing people of various cultures together, and using that as a way to resolve conflict."

That sounds like the inspiration behind your 2010 album, The Imagine Project, which brought together musicians from five continents. You said then that you wanted to express the global unity of all peoples.
Actually, The Imagine Project and my UNESCO appointment [are] all part of my life evolving toward that goal. It's all bound together; it's part of what I view as a direction toward making a contribution in service to humanity. The music is part of that, and also however else I might be able to be of service — through speeches, programs and encouragement.

Among the goals set in the International Jazz Day announcement are to "encourage exchange and understanding between cultures" and to "recognize jazz as a universal language of freedom." Can you give me an idea of what specific form these might take?
One of the most important functions of jazz has been to encourage a hope for freedom, for people living in situations of intolerance or struggle. In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered. Even the very idea of an International Jazz Day calls attention to the fact [that] jazz, for many years, has had a diplomatic function.

You mean the way that such artists as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and Dizzy Gillespie traveled on behalf of the U.S. government to share their music with people around the world?
Yes. And actually, I didn't want to limit my activities to music because that's not the only thing I'm capable of doing. One thing I had been thinking about from the start is having panel discussions or symposiums, say in a university, where students from countries that are involved in conflict, such as the Middle East, can just talk — because very often it's a misunderstanding or misinformation about a culture outside of one's own that is at the root of intolerance. This can start with music, but certainly I don't have to be stuck there.

Another goal set by UNESCO is to use jazz to "promote intercultural dialogue toward the eradication of racial tensions and gender inequality." Specifically, how might that take shape?
The simplest idea that comes to mind is a band that has girls in it. That's not something you or I might look at as an example, because jazz has already transcended that in a sense. People attending the concerts are not even aware of it; they're enjoying the music and then they look around and see it's not just guys on the stage. So then it becomes obvious that great value has been created by emphasizing equality.

Now that you're an official appointee of the U.N., do I need to address you as "Mr. Ambassador"?
You know, I went to some functions in Cambodia and Indonesia as a representative of UNESCO, and officially I was addressed as "Your Excellency." I was shocked. That's only at certain functions — it's a courtesy thing among ambassadors. And I'm not an actual ambassador in the sense of coming from a specific country. In fact, all the other ambassadors from UNESCO represent their own countries, but a goodwill ambassador represents the world.

The International Jazz Day events will feature a slew of your fellow multiple GRAMMY winners, among them Dee Dee Bridgewater, Marcus Miller, Dianne Reeves, Wayne Shorter, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, and George Duke. Is there a role for The Recording Academy in International Jazz Day?
I think it really shows that [The Recording Academy] recognizes and encourages great creativity. And actually, this is creativity toward world peace. We want to bring the peoples of the world together, because we have some serious stuff we have to deal with — in terms of the survival of humanity. World peace is no longer some pie-in-the-sky thing, because no single person or country is going to solve it on their own.

(Neil Tesser has broadcast, written about and helped program jazz in Chicago for more than 35 years. His work has appeared in Jazziz, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and now online at Examiner.com. Tesser received a GRAMMY nomination in 1985 for Best Album Notes for The Girl From Ipanema — The Bossa Nova Years.)

GRAMMYs

Ella Fitzgerald

Photo: David Redfern/Redferns

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A Jazzy Celebration

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The Academy honors Jazz Appreciation Month with a playlist based on music from April-born jazz musicians
Neil Tesser
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Celebrating its 11th anniversary in 2012, Jazz Appreciation Month is the brainchild of Dr. John Edward Hasse, renowned jazz author and curator of the Smithsonian Institution's division of culture and the arts. In describing the idea behind the April celebration, Hasse says, "It occurred to me that jazz's biggest challenge was not a lack of talented, but a lack of audience and appreciation."  

With the Smithsonian Institution's backing, and the support of governmental agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of State, Hasse launched the first JAM in April 2001. Today, JAM is supported by more than 20 federal and nongovernmental partners, including the GRAMMY Foundation, and extends across all 50 states and to 40 countries.

As an extension of the annual Jazz Appreciation Month, this year GRAMMY-winning artist Herbie Hancock announced the launch of International Jazz Day, which will be held each year on April 30. The aim is to bring people together from all over the world to celebrate and support understanding of the art of jazz, its roots and its impact, while highlighting its role as a means of communication. Festivities for the inaugural event begin tomorrow and will feature concerts in Paris, New Orelans and New York.

But even if you're not in Paris, New Orleans or New York, it's pretty easy to recognize Jazz Appreciation Month — you just have to listen to the music. And if you program an hour or so of GRAMMY-winning jazz, all the better. With that, we take this angle to its logical extreme and draw our random JAM playlist from a group of jazz artists born in April. After all, no one is appreciated more than on their birthday.

"Ritmo En El Corazon" (iTunes>)
Ray Barretto

Among the first congueros to play with a real jazz feel, the Nuyorican Barretto (April 29) was the main man for mainstream jazzers needing authentic Afro-Cuban percussion in the '50s and '60s. But he won his only GRAMMY in quite a different arena, joining with the great Cuban songstress Celia Cruz for the folkloric heat of Ritmo En El Corazon, which won the Best Tropical Latin Performance GRAMMY in 1989.

"Mongo's Blues" (iTunes>)
Michel Camilo

Sir Michel (April 4) — who has been knighted by his native Dominican Republic — made the first album under his own name in 1985. But even before he gained attention for his flashy and fiery piano work, listeners knew his tune "Why Not?" thanks to a hot recording with lyrics by the Manhattan Transfer. Camilo honored a true hero of Latin music, percussionist Mongo Santamaria, with this composition on Live At The Blue Note, which won the Best Latin Jazz Album GRAMMY in 2003.

"Libertad" (iTunes>)
Caribbean Jazz Project

The Gathering was the Caribbean Jazz Project's third album for the Concord Jazz label, and garnered them their lone GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2002. Led by co-principal/flautist Dave Valentin (April 29) and GRAMMY-winning founder Dave Samuels, the album is both accessible and adventurous, evidenced by the romantic and musical themes of "Libertad."

"Anatomy Of A Murder" (iTunes>)
Duke Ellington

Often considered the greatest jazzman ever, and indisputably jazz's greatest composer, Ellington (April 29) won the first three of his 11 GRAMMYs for Anatomy Of A Murder in 1959, including Best Performance By A Dance Band. When film director Otto Preminger decided that his blockbuster adaptation of the best-selling novel needed an original jazz soundtrack, he went to the source. The resulting music remains a high-water mark of jazz in film.

"Cheek To Cheek" (iTunes>)
Ella Fitzgerald

The quintessential jazz singer, Fitzgerald (April 25) won 13 GRAMMYs during her career — including an impressive seven from 1958–1962. Her first two statues came in 1958, the GRAMMYs' inaugural year, for Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Irving Berlin Song Book, which included a grand arrangement of "Cheek To Cheek," and Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book. Symbolic of her stylistic breadth, Fitzgerald took home one GRAMMY in pop and one in jazz. 

"A Change Is Gonna Come" (iTunes>)
Herbie Hancock 

Hancock (April 12) added GRAMMYs 13 and 14 to his résumé in 2010. He released his star-studded The Imagine Project that year, which spawned two GRAMMY wins for "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Imagine" for Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, respectively. The latter song features appearances by Jeff Beck, India.Arie, Pink, and Oumou Sangare, among others, and was Hancock's first GRAMMY win in the Pop Field. 

"Miles Ahead" (iTunes>)
Joe Henderson 

Tenor saxophonist Henderson (April 24) was an insider's favorite — a jazz musician's jazz musician. His indelible in-and-out phrasings finally resulted in four GRAMMYs in the '90s, thanks to a series of inspired theme albums for Verve Records — including 1993's So Near, So Far (Musings For Miles), his homage to the late Miles Davis. The album itself earned Henderson one GRAMMY; his lustrous solo in "Miles Ahead" earned him another for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

"God Bless The Child" (iTunes>)
Billie Holiday

Holiday (April 7) never won a GRAMMY. She died in 1959, barely two years after The Recording Academy was founded. But "Lady Day" has no less than six recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, including "God Bless The Child," which was inducted in 1976. Holiday wrote the lyrics for this 1941 recording, and they still resonate today as evidenced by George Benson, Al Jarreau and R&B vocalist Jill Scott's cover that won a GRAMMY in 2006.

"Moment To Moment" (iTunes>)
Freddie Hubbard

Hubbard (April 7) was brash, headstrong and exhilarating — a trumpet virtuoso in a lineage preceded by Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong. He also grabbed an early foothold on the fusion of rock and jazz that marked the Age of Aquarius, leaving his hard-bop roots in the dust to win his only GRAMMY in 1972 for Best Jazz Performance By A Group for First Light, which featured "Moment To Moment" and other bright new jazz sounds.

"Walk On The Water" (iTunes>)
Gerry Mulligan

Mulligan (April 6) first made his mark as one of Miles Davis' collaborators in the creation of cool jazz, and then as an innovative and virtuosic baritone saxophonist. But what won him his only GRAMMY for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band in 1981 were the lightly swinging arrangements written for Walk On The Water.

"I Feel Pretty" (iTunes>)
André Previn

Previn (April 6) is a quadruple threat — the pianist has won awards for classical, pop, jazz, and musical show recordings. He covered the latter two bases with his 1960 album of music from one of the all-time Broadway hits, "West Side Story," which won a GRAMMY for Best Jazz Performance Solo Or Small Group. Previn was honored with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. 

"Jelly Belly"
Mongo Santamaria

Who is the only percussionist whose name serves as a punch line in a Mel Brooks movie?  That would be Santamaria (April 7), the Cuban-born master conguero/composer who was a forerunner in fusing Latin rhythms with soul jazz. This exemplar of jazz communication is taken from the GRAMMY-winning album Dawn, which marked the first GRAMMY nod for the then-new label Fania Records, soon to be a Latin music powerhouse. (The movie was Blazing Saddles.)  

Which jazz artists will you celebrate this month? Drop us a comment and share some of the artists who will make your playlist.

(Neil Tesser has broadcast, written about and helped program jazz in Chicago for more than 35 years. His work has appeared in Jazziz, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and now online at Examiner.com. Tesser received a GRAMMY nomination in 1985 for Best Album Notes for The Girl From Ipanema — The Bossa Nova Years.)

 

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Hancock Launches International Jazz Day

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THE GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 3:22 pm

Hancock Launches International Jazz Day
Following his appointment as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in July 2011, GRAMMY winner Herbie Hancock has established International Jazz Day, to be held each year on April 30 in conjunction with Jazz Appreciation Month. The aim is to bring together people from all over the world to "celebrate and learn more about the art of jazz, its roots and its impact, and to highlight its important role as a means of communication that transcends differences," according to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova. Festivities for the inaugural event will begin April 27 and feature concerts in Paris, New Orleans and New York, with performances by artists including GRAMMY winners Terence Blanchard, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hancock, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. (3/20)  

Julian Lage

Julian Lage

Photo: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

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GRAMMY Museum April 2021 Schedule grammy-museum-april-2021-schedule-announced

GRAMMY Museum April 2021 Schedule: Julian Lage, Tower Of Power, Herbie Hancock & More

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COLLECTION:live, the GRAMMY Museum’s official streaming platform, offers a variety of can’t-miss presentations for Jazz Appreciation Month—from Blue Note Digital Exhibit to a Spotlight Saturdays Series Takeover by Elektra Music Group
Morgan Enos
GRAMMY Museum
Mar 31, 2021 - 1:06 pm

The 2021 GRAMMY Awards show may have come and gone, but the GRAMMY Museum is offering wonderful content as the winter gives way to spring.

Specifically, COLLECTION:live, the GRAMMY Museum’s official streaming platform, has just announced its programming for April, which is Jazz Appreciation Month.

This month's schedule includes appearances and/or performances by guitar wunderkind Julian Lage, Buffalo Springfield co-founder Richie Furay, R&B horn giants Tower of Power and more—plus archived programs featuring Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater and other luminaries.

Check out the full lineup below and get ready for Jazz Appreciation Month!

COLLECTION:LIVE SCHEDULE

New Programs to be released this month

Thurs, April 8 – Celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month

  • Emmet Cohen
  • Julian Lage

Thurs, April 22 

  • The Beat Farmers
  • Richie Furay
  • T Bear aka Richard T Bear
  • Tower of Power

Thurs, April 29

  • Adam Ezra Group
  • Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.
  • Michigander

Spotlight Saturdays Series Takeover By Elektra Music Group

  • 4/3 Chloe Moriondo 
  • 4/10 Livingston
  • 4/17 Brynn Cartelli
  • 4/24 The Band CAMINO

Archived Programs to be released in celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month

  • Dee Dee Bridgewater
  • Herbie Hancock
  • Azar Lawrence
  • Christian McBride
  • Preservation Hall Jazz Band
  • Don Was & Terence Blanchard
  • Cassandra Wilson

DIGITAL EXHIBIT

  • 4/2 – Blue Note: The Finest in Jazz (Archived Exhibit Opening Program with Don Was & Terence Blanchard will also be available on COLLECTION:live)

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Harry Connick Jr. and friends in Jackson Square, New Orleans

Harry Connick Jr. and friends in NOLA

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United We Sing: Cyndi Lauper, Jamie Foxx & More Help Harry Connick Jr. Bring Smiles To Essential Workers

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Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Herbie Hancock, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, John Fogerty and others also brought gratitude from New York to New Orleans
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2020 - 7:02 pm

On Sunday, June 21, CBS aired the two-hour "United We Sing: A GRAMMY Salute To The Unsung Heroes" special featuring host Harry Connick Jr., who, along with his filmmaker daughter, Georgia Connick, journeyed via RV from New York to New Orleans to personally thank the essential workers risking their lives to keep us all safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

The inspiring road trip, which was shot several weeks ago and with a limited crew and social distancing precautions, saw the Connicks visiting truck drivers, teachers, grocery store workers, hospital cleaning staff, firefighters, a trash route worker and other unsung heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.

At each stop, a very special guest, via Zoom, helped Harry offer messages of gratitude to the local heroes, while Georgia filmed the moving interactions. These included Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah, along with GRAMMY winners Irma Thomas, Jamie Foxx, Herbie Hancock, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, John Fogerty and others.

Watch Tim McGraw Perform "Something Like That"

The first stop was to visit Harry's sister Suzanna Jamison, a military doctor currently stationed at Queens Hospital Center in Queens, N.Y. "It's really hard for all the people involved," she said. It was also, understandably so, hard for the siblings to not be able to hug each other. He later visited their father in New Orleans, where they grew up, for another heartwarming family visit.

After narrowly escaping N.Y.C. while driving their massive RV through the narrow streets of Chinatown, Harry navigated them to Chattanooga, Tenn. to thank an adorable trucker couple. McGraw, the first celeb guest of the jaunt, said hi via Zoom. The country icon shared that his dad was a trucker, and he got his country music education at a young age, riding alongside his father with the tape deck going. He then sang an acoustic rendition of his 1999 song "Something Like That" (watch the performance above).

The next stop was to visit teachers at Irvington High School in Newark, N.J. One of the young teachers, Aaysha Notice, shared her passion for showing up for her students, even when they're apart, with innovative ideas like a car parade to celebrate the kids' test scores, driving outside their houses, shouting praises from a safe distance. Their special caller was Queen Latifah—she attended Irvington at the same time her mom taught there. Notice and the other teachers where thrilled to hear support from Latifah, who reminded them: "You are the superstars!"

Explore: 'Black Gold' At 50: How Nina Simone Refracted The Black Experience Through Reinterpreted Songs

The show was interspersed with a stellar selection of musical guests and virtual collabs, the second of which was Trombone Shorty and Little Big Town, with the New Orleans jazz artist playing from his hometown and the country act singing in from Florida and Nashville. They performed a rousing cover of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)."

Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas sings in front of the Mississippi River

Other performances included Thomas singing her GRAMMY-winning 1962 classic "It's Raining" in front of a grey-skied Mississippi river, with Lauper supporting virtually from Los Angeles and Foxx singing a moving rendition of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands," dedicated to his beloved grandmother and Withers. Foxx helped thank the cleaning staff at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala.

Hancock and Day, who is playing Billie Holiday in an upcoming biopic, performed Holiday's "God Bless The Child," along with an upright bassist and drummer, each playing from their respective set-ups. Later, Jon Batiste and the Gospel Soul Children served up a beautiful performance of "Amazing Grace."

Fogerty and his family, calling in from Los Angeles, performed an electric rendition of his "Proud Mary," with help from Rockin' Dopsie Jr. playing the zydeco in front of the river that inspired the Creedance Clearwater Revival hit. Also while in NOLA, Connick joined an amazing, socially distanced second line, featuring the Bourbon Street Brass Band, the Lady Buckjumpers and the Wild Magnolias, who delivered a brass rendition of "America The Beautiful."

Read: Marching Six Feet Apart: How High School Marching Bands Are Coping With The Pandemic

One of the most moving musical moments came from the tribute to the late jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, who died from COVID-19. Three of his sons honored the NOLA legend with the hymn "How Great Thou Art," along with Connick singing on a piano. They performed outside of the city's Ellis Marsalis Center For Music, built after hurricane Katrina to serves as a music education and enrichment space for kids, a recording studio, performance hall and more. One of the eldest sons, Branford Marsalis, returned to the show later to perform Dave Matthews Band's "Mercy" with Dave himself.

R.I.P.: Pianist And New Orleans Jazz Staple Ellis Marsalis Dies At 85

While visiting New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell at City Hall, Lou Hill of the Recording Academy stopped by to share the Academy would be joining Connick in making donations to the Marsalis Center and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, another important local music org highlighted during the special. During the show, viewers where encouraged to learn more and donate what they could to the non-profits, as well as MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund and two food-focused charities, No Kid Hungry and the Conscious Alliance, a coalition of artists dedicated keeping their communities fed.

Read: My Mind: The 'Panther' Theme Song Turns 25

Other stops and celebrity Zoom cameos included a visit to Oprah's Boys and Girls Club in Kosciusko, Miss., where the employees are feeding kids who would otherwise not eat with school out, with around 2000 meals a day! Winfrey called in to thank them personally; she helped open in that Boys and Girls Club in her hometown back in 2006. At a Kroger's grocery store in Knoxville, Tenn., Connick called on Renée Zellweger to praise two lovely employees there. Sandra Bullock zoomed with transit supervisor Joy Palmer, who recently lost her husband to COVID-19.

GRAMMYs

A gospel choir sings with Connick in Jefferson Square, New Orleans

Brad Pitt made two cameos, first offering playful jokes and heartfelt thanks to the lovely Darnell, the supervisor of trash pickup route, and later to help Connick close the show. The final number saw Connick singing "Stars Still Shine" on a piano in NOLA's Jackson Square, with the support of a gospel choir and orchestra. The new song, dedicated to all their new friends on the front lines, and the many more they didn't have time to meet, is available to download now with all proceeds going to the Marsalis Center.

"Nothing Like This Has Ever Happened": How Orchestra Musicians Are Faring In The Pandemic

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.