55th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Traditional R&B Performance

Gregory Porter
Be Good
Motéma Music

Riding high on the success of his 2010 Grammy-nominated debut, Gregory Porter ups the stakes with a soul-satisfying set featuring powerful originals and distinctive standards. Since his solo debut Water in May 2010, Grammy nominee Gregory Porter has rocketed from talented unknown to one of the most relevant and virtuosic vocalists on the international jazz scene today. Over 10,000 physical and digital units of Water have sold so far, and the album continues to sell steadily.

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best New Age Album

Steven Halpern
Deep Alpha
Steven Halpern's Inner Peace Music

Sure to set a new standard of excellence in the sound healing genre, and delight both longtime fans and new converts. Halpern’s last album, Deep Theta, debuted at #9 on Billboard’s New Age Chart. Deep Alpha is the follow up album to his bestselling Deep Theta. Features Aural-Sync brainwave synchronization technology matrix at 8 Hz. The #1 bestselling artist in the sound healing genre. Widely recognized as a founding father of the new age/ sound healing music genre. Features the remarkable new Rhodes electric piano.

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album & Best Instrumental Arrangement

Bobby Sanabria Big Band
Multiverse
Motéma Music

One of the hottest big band CDs EVER, from a multi-Grammy®-nominated big band!

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Children's Album

Bill Harley
High Dive And Other Things That Could Have Happened...
Round River Records

Two-time Grammy winner Bill Harley takes us back to his boyhood with stories about summer at the community pool, field trips to the state house, and a Valentine’s Day disaster! Heartfelt and witty, Bill Harley’s tales engage kids like no other and send adults on a trip to their own past. Features “High Dive” and “Field Trip,” stories that Bill has told at recent shows and festivals. A spoken word recording perfect for the whole family!

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Lorraine Feather
Tales Of The Unusual
Jazzed Media

Celebrated lyricist, jazz vocalist, and 2011 Grammy nominee Lorraine Feather takes the listener on a most unusual journey—stops along the way including the depths of the Amazon, an off-the-grid island in Washington State, the circus as envisioned by Fellini, and The Twilight Zone. Follows on the heels of Ages, a 2011 Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Like that record, this new release features originals as well as music by Duke Ellington, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, and film composer Nino Rota (for whose Juliet of the Spirits theme “Rosa Aurata” Feather created lyrics).

55th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Album Notes

Pablo Aslan Quintet
Piazzolla In Brooklyn
Jazzed Media

A contemporary remake of Piazzolla’s 1959 recording Take Me Dancing, with the unique contemporary sound of Grammy nominee Pablo Aslan’s Argentine band, featuring Piazzolla’s grandson on drums! Follow-up to Pablo Aslan’s Latin Grammy- and Grammy-nominated Tango Grill. A tribute to great New Tango master Astor Piazzolla, infused with Aslan’s trademark contemporary jazz tango style, on the 90th anniversary year of the maestro’s birth. Aslan’s quintet features the top young veterans of Buenos Aires’ jazz and tango scene including Astor Piazzolla’s grandson, drummer Daniel “Pipi” Piazzolla. Includes unique versions of Piazzolla originals such as “La Calle 92,” “Triunfal,” “Counterpoint,” and “Show Off,” as well as Piazzolla’s unique tango arrangements of jazz standards such as ”Laura” and “Lullaby in Birdland.” Piazzolla’s original NY jazz tango recording Take Me Dancing (Tico, 1959) was very controversial. Here, it is revisited with a contemporary NY vibe that comes from Aslan’s immersion in the local Brooklyn scene and his frequent contact with his native Buenos Aires.

54th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Reggae Album

Monty Alexander
Harlem-Kingston Express Live!
Motéma Music

Harlem-Kingston Express finds the Jamaican jazz legend in rare form, rockin’ it with his jazz quartet and a powerhouse reggae posse in New York City, with additional tracks from dates in Jamaica and Europe. Powerful follow-up to Stir It Up, Alexander’s lauded Bob Marley tribute, which sold over 15,000 units. With a career spanning five decades of stellar recordings both as a bandleader and as a sideman with such greats as Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Bobby McFerrin, and Quincy Jones, Monty enjoys a reputation as one of the most beloved, funloving, and versatile legendary jazz pianists of his generation. Feature in the May issue of DownBeat focuses on his reggaejazz connection, and will mention this release. Strong fan base; Monty has toured consistently for over five decades both as a leader and sideman of note.

54th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
40 Acres And A Burro
Zoho

Grammy winner O’Farrill presents his orchestra in two exciting originals and nine standouts that define contemporary Latin big band jazz. Features legendary clarinetist & Grammy winner Paquito D’Rivera!

54th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album

Roseanna Vitro
The Music Of Randy Newman
Motéma Music

On her 12th release and Motema debut, renowned jazz vocalist Roseanna Vitro applies her masterful storytelling panache to the music of Randy Newman, one of America’s most prolific and beloved composers. Newman’s wry portraits of life in America and beyond take on fresh dimensions via the fertile imaginations of Vitro, her stellar pianist/arranger Mark Soskin, rising-star violinist Sara Caswell, and a top tier band.

54th Annual Grammy Award Nominee for Best New Age Album

Peter Kater
Wind, Rock, Sea & Flame
Point Of Light Records

Creating music for the healing arts has long been a passion for six-time Grammy® nominee Peter Kater. This all-new recording combines some of his favorite elements including piano, cello, soprano saxophone, acoustic bass, warm synch pads, and whale song, painted gracefully on a spacious flowing canvas of love. Created as an homage to the four elements and Peter’s love for the Hawaiian Islands and Oceans. Aggressive multi-channel marketing support for new release. Perfect music for healing, deepening, sanctity, and love.

GRAMMY AWARD WINNER BEST NEW ARTIST

Esperanza Spalding
Junjo
Ayva Musica

On Sunday February 13, on what is called "Music's Biggest Night," Portland native and jazz phenom Esperanza Spalding shocked the world by winning the GRAMMY AWARD for "BEST NEW ARTIST."  This was the first time a jazz artist had been a nominee, and was Esperanza's first Grammy.

Indispensable for every Esperanza Spalding fan, this collector’s item -- which received very limited US distribution -- showcases the star just as her career was just beginning to explode. “Subtle, sophisticated, and rhythmically seductive, Junjo is a sparkling debut.” VIBE

GRAMMY AWARD WINNER BEST JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM

James Moody
Moody 4B
IPO Recordings

Featuring pianist Kenny Barron, this album from Jazz Journalists Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner James Moody is the best recorded work in his career. Moody and Barron go back 50 years, to Dizzy Gillespie’s legendary quintet, and are absolutely amazing together.

Mr. Moody passed away on December 9, 2010 at the age of 85, but his contribution to music will live on as he was truly one of the great artists in jazz. “A warm and tradition-rich listen with a graceful sense of swing ... Moody's first Grammy win was long overdue." LOS ANGELES TIMES

GRAMMY AWARD WINNER BEST SURROUND SOUND ALBUM

Kansas City Symphony / Michael Stern: conductor
Britten's Orchestra SACD
Reference Recordings

The SACD version of this popular album offers stunning, high-resolution sound and is Reference Recordings’ very first multi-channel release!

“In a brilliant display of orchestral power and poetry from the country’s heartland, Michael Stern leads the Kansas City Symphony in an all-Britten programme that speaks eloquently … the sound is better than being in the hall: rich in detail, gold in colour, and equal to any volume.” GRAMOPHONE

Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks

Lorraine Feather
Ages
Jazzed Media

The original songs on Ages range from the hilarious to the heartrending, covering a wide range of topics including marriage, death, B vitamins, long-held yearnings, grammar school, and Scrabble—commentaries on life, as Lorraine Feather has known it, “from zero to sixty.” Feather has been widely praised over the last decade for her brilliant lyrics and supple vocals, in collaboration with some of the finest composers in jazz including Russell Ferrante and Béla Fleck. Ages is her most intense and autobiographical work to date.

Nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks

Gregory Porter
Water
Motema Music

With his rich baritone sound and intelligent, sensual lyrics, Gregory Porter’s star is rising fast. This highly anticipated debut recording, which features seven compelling originals and four standards, captures the intensity of his live performances and establishes an important new voice in jazz, gospel, and soul. Iconic Blue Note jazzman James Spaulding—noted for his classic recordings with Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby Hutcherson—plays a featured role in “Wisdom” and “Black Nile.” Porter will co-star alongside the original Broadway cast of Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues at the Northlight Theatre in Chicago (May/June 2010), during which time he will promote Water at the theater and through Chicago media and club appearances.

Nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo For an instrumental jazz solo performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Lonley Woman - Hank Jones, soloist
Track from: Pleased To Meet You

Oliver Jones /Hank Jones
Pleased To Meet You
Justin Time Records

Canada's greatest living pianist, Oliver Jones, meets America's elder statesman of jazz, piano legend Hank Jones. Taking the recent passing of their mutual friend Oscar Peterson as a point of departure, the men pay homage with two Peterson compositions, and Oliver wrote one piece dedicated to the late master. Hank performs two solo selections,gorgeously rendered.

Hank Jones, pianist and jazz legend, inspiration to countless musicians, died May 16, 2010 in New York City, after a brief illness. He was 91 years old, and would have been 92 on July 31st.  He continued to perform even into 2010.

Nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.

Vijay Iyer
Historicity
Act Music & Vision

Twice voted the #1 Rising Star Jazz Artist and Rising Star Composer in DownBeat’s International Critics’ Poll, Vijay Iyer is a largely self-taught creative musician grounded in the American jazz lexicon and drawing from a range of Western and non-Western traditions.

Nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group For albums containing 51% or more playing time of INSTRUMENTAL tracks.

John Beasley
Positootly!
Resonance Records

This new CD picks up where Letter to Herbie left off, demonstrating Beasley’s growth as a composer (all but three selections), bandleader, and arranger. The chemistry among the players is evident on this excellent disc.

Nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album

Martignon, Hector
Secord Chance
Zoho Music

On his second ZOHO release, pianist Hector Martignon presents his current, hot young Latin jazz quintet with special guests Edmar Castañeda on Colombian harp and John Walsh on trumpet. In an exciting program of eight originals and three South American standards, Martignon confirms his eminent position as of the most sought-after pianists on the Latin jazz scene. Has toured with Mongo Santamaría, Gato Barbieri, Tito Puente, and more. First ZOHO release, Refugee (ZMR 200705), was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008.

Nominated for Best Latin Jazz Album

Pablo Aslan
Tango Grill
Zoho Music

A pioneer and leading figure in tango jazz—a growing new style that blends the repertoire, instrumentation, and vocabulary of tango with elements of jazz—Pablo Aslan set out to reinvent twelve 20th century tango classics on the fly. The result is tradition with a razor’s edge!

Nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement An Arranger's Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Track -Itsbynne Reel - Gil Goldstein, arranger (Dave Eggar)
Track from: Kingston Morning

Dave Eggar
Kingston Morning
DOMO Records

Cellist Dave Eggar has been heavily praised for his superior musicianship, not to mention his flair for adventure in his musical choices. KINGSTON MORNING is a showcase for both of those qualities. Two disparate cultures lie at the epicenter of this release: the sunny rhythm of Jamaica and the folky, Celtic-flavored charm of Appalachia. An unusual pairing, Eggar unites the cultures with the expressive moods of his cello playing, with a little electronic blended in for accent. The album dawns in Jamaica, with the smooth jazz-inflected "Follow Me to the Sun" and the reggae fusion song "Earth's Paradise" introducing listeners to the unique themes of the Caribbean, while maintaining a pensive vibe. From there, songs like "Itsbynne Reel" move north of the border to capture the fiddle goodness of the mountain regions, at which point the lines begin to blend and the music reflects a unique musical vision that belongs to Eggar.

Nominated for Best New Age Album

Kitaro
Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai V4
DOMO Records

Kitaro continues his sacred pilgrimage to the 88 temples of Shikoku with the fourth album in his "Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai" series. The virtuoso composer and synthesizer innovator fills the pieces of this album with a reverent peacefulness, pairing Asian influences with his emotive synth tones, that at times float by like petals on the water and at others dramatic swoop like a bird in flight. Like the other entries in the series, the music is less dramatically than the material of Kitaro's proper albums, focusing on meditative, tranquil melodies. Violinist Steve Kindler joins Kitaro, adding his sublime strings to the mix, which gives the music an added dose of symphonic splendor, alongside Paul Pesco on guitar, Keiko Takahashi and Diana Dentino on keyboards and Voyce McGinley on percussion.

Nominated for Best Traditional World Music Album Vocal or Instrumental

Gyuto Monks
Pure Sounds
New Earth Records

The Gyuto Monks of Tibet are masters of a deep harmonic overtone chanting. The sound has been compared to the resonance of a drum or digeridoo, and is believed to have a transformative effect, removing impurities in a physical and spiritual sense, and clearing the path to enlightenment. Ideal for the healing arts, yoga, and prayer. Perfect for meditation practices.

Nominated for Best Small Ensemble Performance Award to the Ensemble (and to the Conductor.)

The Sixteen
Ceremony and Devotion: Music for the Tudors
CORO (Sixteen Productions)

A brand new recording by Harry Christophers and his award-winning group. Harry Christophers and The Sixteen won the 2009 Classic FM Gramophone Artist of the Year Award as well as the award for best Baroque Vocal Recording. This new disc focuses on the great sacred music of 16th century England, both pre- and post-Reformation. Sheppard, Tallis, and Byrd all feature on the recording but the disc centers around Sheppard’s Media Vita, which is a staggering achievement not only in sheer size but also in its expression.

Nominated for Best Spoken Word Album For Children For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.

Bill Harley
The Best Candy in the Whole World
Round River

It doesn't matter if you are eight years old or forty-eight, you'll find yourself giddy with glee listening to the wildly humorous tales of Bill Harley. THE BEST CANDY IN THE WHOLE WORLD takes silliness to a whole new level, featuring over an hour of fun songs and stories to keep kids enthralled. Have you ever fantasized about having an endless cache of candy flowing from your pocket? Meet Barney, a young boy who finds himself with a magical candy stash that keep replenishing. It seems like a boon until his classmates find out and mayhem ensues. Another story follows a young kid that accidently gets trapped in a peanut… and is swallowed whole by a series of different animals. Besides his clever yarns, the other ingredient that makes Harley's programs so addictive is his narrative style, which is brimming with expression, different vocal inflections and sound effects, all designed to truly immerse the listeners in the stories.