Additional honorees include recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder and trumpeter Snooky Young. This year’s honorees join jazz legends such as Count Basie, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herbie Hancock.

The October ceremony and concert, sponsored by the NEA and Jazz at Lincoln Center, will be held at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York, and will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

The National Endowment for the Arts has supported jazz artists and organizations since 1969, providing millions of dollars in grants and awards. In 2004, the NEA significantly expanded its NEA Jazz Masters program and in 2005 created the NEA Jazz Masters Initiative, a comprehensive program of jazz support that includes the NEA Jazz Masters Award; NEA Jazz Masters Live, a series of multiple event engagements in selected communities, featuring NEA Jazz Masters; radio programming featuring NEA Jazz Masters; a compilation CD produced by Verve Music Group; educational resources through the NEA Jazz in the Schools program produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center; and publications and reports.

Shown are (l to r): BMI's Malik Levy and Charlie Feldman, son Cheaa Mayfield, Altheida Mayfield, BMI's Phil Graham and son Kirk Mayfield, with BMI's Catherine Brewton, David Claassen and Nicole Plantin.

Founded in 1985, Hollywood's RockWalk at the Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard is the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of rock and roll, blues and r&b. The handprints and signatures of inductees will reside in bronze alongside other equally accomplished musicians and innovators including Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Brian Wilson, Aerosmith, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Presley, Queen, the Black Crowes, Dick Clark, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Les Paul, John Lee Hooker and Smokey Robinson.

Altheida Mayfield, flanked by sons Cheaa (left) and Kirk (right), praises her late husband's achievements.

Photos by Marlene Meraz

This year's selections include such renowned BMI songwriters and composers as Herbie Hancock (Head Hunters), Michael Jackson (Thriller), Roy Orbison ( “Oh Pretty Woman”), Kitty Wells (“ It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”) and Art Tatum (“Sweet Lorraine”). Almost 70% of the PRO-affiliated works on this year’s list are part of the BMI repertoire. View images and and listen to brief clips of these selections.

The National Recording Preservation Board, comprising experts from the music industry and preservation field, culled its list from nominations made by the public for recordings considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." Recordings must be 10 years old to be considered for preservation and final selections are made by the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington.

The National Recording Registry was created by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, legislation that promotes and supports audio preservation. The registry celebrates the richness and variety of the nation's audio legacy and underscores the responsibility to assure the long-term preservation of that legacy for future generations.

This year’s selections include (*indicates BMI entry):

1. The first Trans-Atlantic Broadcast, March14, 1925
2. “Allons a Lafayette,” Joseph Falcon*
3. “Casta Diva,” from Bellini’s Norma
4. “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again,” Thomas A. Dorsey*
5. “Sweet Lorraine,” Art Tatum*
6. Fibber McGee and Molly
7. Wings Over Jordan
8. Fiorello LaGuardia reading the comics
9. “Call it Stormy Monday but Tuesday is Just as Bad,” T-Bone Walker*
10. Harry S. Truman Speech at the 1948 Democratic Convention
11. The Jazz Scene, Various Artists*
12. “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” Kitty Wells*
13. My Fair Lady, Original Cast Recording
14. Navajo Shootingway Ceremony Field Recordings
15. ‘Freight Train’ and Other North Carolina Folk Songs, Elizabeth Cotton*
16. “Oh Pretty Woman,” Roy Orbison*
17. “Marine Band Concert Album to Help Benefit the National Cultural Center (1963)
18. “Tracks of My Tears,” Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
19. “You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song,” Ella Jenkins
20. “Music From the Morning of the World,” David Lewiston
21. “For the Roses,” Joni Mitchell
22. Head Hunters, Herbie Hancock*
23. Ronald Reagan Broadcasts
24. “The Sounds of the Earth,” Voyager Spacecraft
25. “Thriller,” Michael Jackson*

Founded in 1985, Hollywood's RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard is the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of rock and roll, blues and r&b. Their handprints and signatures will reside alongside other equally accomplished musicians and innovators including Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Brian Wilson, Aerosmith, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Presley, Queen, the Black Crowes, Dick Clark, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Les Paul, John Lee Hooker, Smokey Robinson and others.

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.

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.

West, a previous six-time Grammy winner, garnered the most nods including Album of the Year, Best Rap Album and Best Rap Solo Performance. His songwriting expertise is being recognized twice in the Best Rap Song category for “Good Life” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”.

Amy Winehouse, up for six, goes head-to-head with Kanye in the Album of the Year category. Winehouse received nominations including Song of the Year for “Rehab” and the coveted Best New Artist, which she’ll compete with BMI newcomer Taylor Swift.

BMI singer/songwriters dominated the Album of the Year category obtaining all five nominations with the Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace; Vince Gill’s These Days; Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters; Kanye West’s Graduation; and Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black.

In addition, T-Pain received his first-ever Grammy recognition garnering five nods in categories including Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocals and Best Rap Song. Ne-Yo also scored five nominations, including Best Contemporary R&B Album mention for Because of You.

Daughtry, Tim McGraw, Rihanna and Feist scored four nominations each. Daughtry’s explosive self-titled album is up for Best Rock Album; McGraw’s Let It Go received a Best Country Album nod; Rihanna’s “Umbrella” earned a Record of the Year nomination; and Feist scored a Best New Artist nod.

Producer Mark Ronson received three nominations including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical and Record of the Year for his contributions to Winehouse’s Back to Black. Jack White of the White Stripes and Casting Crown's Mark Hall were also cited three times, as were Herbie Hancock, DJ Toomp and Common.

The Recording Academy will also honor Max Roach, The Band and Earl Scruggs with Lifetime Achievement Awards, as well as Jac Holzman and Willie Mitchell with Trustee Awards.

BMI attained a sizable percentage of the rock field achieving four-of-five nominations in the Best Rock Song and the Best Rock Album categories. The domination continued with BMI’s traditional strength in the Latin, Rap & R&B, Gospel, Jazz categories, and sweeps in the New Age and Traditional Blues categories.

Rae, who released her eponymous debut album in February 2006, was predicted to be the number one breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics. She then went on to become the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. She has been nominated for Grammy and BRIT awards and won two MOBO Awards.

Cullum was born in Essex but grew up in Wiltshire where he absorbed all genres of music, favoring jazz luminaries such as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Steely Dan. While studying English at college, Jamie began performing as a singer/pianist, which led to Universal Classics & Jazz signing him in 2003 and the release of his debut recording Twentysomething. Cullum’s international fame and appeal, has made him one of the brightest, gifted and exciting UK artists to emerge in jazz.

The British Academy of Composers & Songwriters is the single voice for all UK music writers and, with over 2,000 members, is the recognized independent trade association for UK music creators. Covering a wide range of disciplines, ages and musical styles, the Gold Badge Awards are the British composers’ salute to an outstanding group of people who have made a special and lasting contribution to Britain’s entertainment industry.