"The Recording Academy Honors"

The Recording Academy's twelve Chapters will each host a program of events called "The Recording Academy Honors," acknowledging those whose achievements have significantly enriched both the greater music community and their specific home communities.

The event launched with the Pacific Northwest Chapter on Sept. 24 honoring the Kingsmen, Katie Becker, Julian Priester, and Sub Pop Records, which included performances by Herbie Hancock, the Kingsmen, Julian Priester, Smoosh, and Kinski.

Scheduled events include the Memphis Chapter on Oct. 22 honoring Craig Brewer, Issac Hayes, David Porter, Justin Timberlake, and radio station WDIA with a special presentation by Lisa Marie Presley; and the Nashville Chapter on Nov. 7 honoring Alison Krauss, Tim McGraw, Earl Scruggs, and BeBe and CeCe Winans with special presentations and performances by T-Bone Burnett, Jimmy Jam, Gladys Knight, Ruben Studdard and many more. Other chapters will announce dates and honorees at a later time.

Recipients of "The Recording Academy Honors" award are selected in recognition of the excellence and integrity embodied in their work, as well as their willingness to support and participate in programs benefiting the music community. Proceeds from the events will go toward music education and professional development programs in each respective Chapter city.

Pacific Northwest Honorees:

The Kingsmen started out as a garage band in Portland, Ore., and grew to be one of the most popular rock bands in the country. Their "unintelligible at any speed" '63 rendition of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie" is perhaps the quintessential garage-rock recording. It reached the top of the charts and was almost adopted as the Washington state song - it's impact on the culture is almost unfathonable.

Kate Becker has been an instrumental force in the all-ages music community. She was a part of the Music and Youth Task Force, which mobilized the community and helped eliminate the highly restrictive Teen Dance Ordinance. Before joining the Task Force, she was the executive director at the Old Firehouse in Redmond, a successful teen center and all-ages music venue. She also co-founded and served as the program director for the Vera Project, another all-ages music venue and community resource center in Seattle. Currently, she commutes from her home in Los Angeles to serve as Vera's interim executive director.

Julian Priester, nationally renowned trombonist and educator, developed his craft and a love for jazz in his hometown of Chicago. He eventually left Chicago and toured with a wide range of jazz legends including Lionel Hampton, Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, and Herbie Hancock. He is currently a faculty member of Cornish College for the Arts where he teaches jazz composition, improvisation, performance, and history. He continues to compose and perform music.

Sub Pop Records is one of the country's most enduring and renowned indie record labels. Sub Pop became a household name in the music world during the grunge movement of the '90s. By releasing the records of Nirvana and Soundgarden, Sub Pop helped inspire a musical renaissance and put Seattle on the music map. Sub Pop has continued its tradition of putting out very fine music, and has released records from a myriad of talented bands that include the Shins, Sleater Kinney, the Postal Service, and recently Wolf Parade.

Memphis Honorees:

Memphis filmmaker Craig Brewer is a self-made man. Like Clarence Saunders, Sam Phillips, Elvis Presley, Fred Smith, and dozens more entrepreneurs and freethinkers who have helped put Memphis on the map, Brewer has succeeded where others might fear to tread. In 2000 this unknown screenwriter/director walked away with the Hollywood Film Festival's Best Digital Feature Award on the basis of his self-financed project The Poor And Hungry. Four years later, Brewer struck gold with his hometown rap epic Hustle & Flow, which won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently purchased by MTV Films. Now Brewer is applying his midas touch to the fictional story of a rural bluesman, played by actor Samuel L. Jackson. The Paramount Classics film, Black Snake Moan, is currently in production in Memphis with Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, and David Banner.

Article Author: Eric Olsen

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