Sonny Rollins appears in...
BMI Jazz Composers Top ‘Downbeat’ Readers Poll
Downbeat has released its 73rd Annual Readers Poll with BMI jazz composers topping 24 of the 29 categories, accounting for 84% of the winners. These composers represent the “who’s who” of jazz performers and BMI’s dominance in the genre. Sonny Rollins top two categories, Jazz Artist and Tenor Saxophone, while the Pat Metheny Trio garnered the Jazz Group award; Pat Metheny himself nabbed the…
BMI Jazz Greats Honored at Lincoln Center
BMI jazz greats Ron Carter, Sonny Rollins and the late Art Blakey will be inducted into the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame at an event held June 17 at Lincoln Center Carter, Rollins and Blakey join other BMI jazz legends inducted in previous years, including Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Billie…
Jazz Appreciation Month Kicks Off In Washington
April has once again been designated as Jazz Appreciation Month, and BMI is proud to again be an anchor sponsor, as it has been since the JAM’s beginnings seven years ago. The month-long celebration pays tribute to jazz as a true American art form and features a variety of activities, including performances, film and displays in venues around Washington, D.C. Pictured (l-r) are…
Nelo

February 2008. That’s the target release date for the full-length debut album by the Austin, Texas-based sextet nelo. Doubtless, for the growing legion of restless fans who have been clamoring for a CD on an almost daily basis on the band’s MySpace page, the wait’s going to feel like an eternity. But considering the fact that the completion of the as yet untitled record represents nothing less…
Max Roach, Lauded Jazz Percussionist, Dies at 83
Max Roach, the musical genius who helped create modern jazz and is considered to be one of the most important drummers in the genre’s history, died August 16 in New York City. He was 83. His cause of death was undisclosed. Roach, a BMI affiliate since 1961, was born Jan. 10, 1924 in New Land, N.C., but later moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn where he began playing drums…
BMI Jazz Giants Score in Down Beat 2007 Critics Poll

BMI composers dominated the 2007 Down Beat Critics Poll, winning 69% of the awards. Celebrated bassist and bandleader Dave Holland was a multiple winner, taking home honors both for Bassist of the Year and Band of the Year for his quintet. The late pianist Andrew Hill was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame, and Miles Davis’s Legendary Prestige Sessions won…
BMI Jazz Composers Sweep 2007 Jazz Journalists Association Awards
BMI jazz composers took home the lion’s share of the awards at the 11th annual Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, held June 28 at the Jazz Standard Club in New York City. The event’s top honoree was pianist Andrew Hill, who passed away on April 20 of this year. He received the Lifetime Achievement in Jazz, Composer of the Year and Pianist of the Year, with his widow, Joanne…
Polar Prize Goes to Steve Reich and Sonny Rollins
BMI composer Steve Reich and BMI jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins have been named the 2007 winners of the Polar Music Prize. Founded in 1989, the Polar Prize is Sweden’s biggest music award. It is administered by Sweden’s Royal Academy of Music and initially funded by a donation to the Academy by Stig Anderson, manager of the pop group ABBA. The Prize…
BMI Jazz Greats Sweep ‘Downbeat’ Critics Poll
Once again, BMI members swept the jazz world's annual "best of" list presented by Downbeat magazine, the voice of jazz since 1934. BMI's dedication to the advancement of original forms of American music exists as a cornerstone of the organization's very conception, and remains a priority today.
BMI Writers Take Home Majority of This Year’s Grammys
Some of BMI's biggest songwriters and artists were among the top winners at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, held February 8 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mariah Carey Alison Krauss Adding…
