Music’s biggest night proved to be one of the Grammy’s best yet at this year’s 55th awards ceremony.
We wanted to take this time to congratulate our Grammy winners from last night. We’re proud to be part of your team and couldn’t be happier for all of you!
BEST NEW AGE ALBUM: Omar Akram | Echoes Of Love | Real Music
BEST TROPICAL LATIN ALBUM: Marlow Rosado Y La Riqueña | Retro | Pink Chaos Productions / Select O Hits
BEST REGIONAL ROOTS ALBUM: Wayne Toups, Steve Riley, Wilson Savoy | The Band Courtbouillon | Valcour Records / Select O Hits
BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE: San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas | Adams: Harmonielehre – Short Ride in a Fast Machine | San Francisco Symphony
BEST LATIN ROCK, URBAN OR ALTERNATIVE ALBUM: Quetzal | Imaginaries | Smithsonian Folkways
BEST BOXED OR SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE: Woody Guthrie | Woody At 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection | Smithsonian Folkways
In case you missed The Grammy’s you can get a list of all the winners here and for those of you who can appreciate some humor, here are Mashable’s fave gifs/memes from the evening.
With July 4th in the middle of the week, it feels like there is little time to truly celebrate the holiday. However, it is possible to continue celebrating America’s history with Smithsonian Folkways’ release of Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection, on July 10th.
Woody Guthrie, who would have turned 100 on July 14th, 2012, wrote songs that even 60 years later Americans know all the lyrics to. Many have even embraced his song “This Land Is Your Land” as America’s second national anthem. A father, a worker, an artist, a writer and a traveler, Woody left, and continues to leave, his mark on history, music and culture.
Now you will have the opportunity to learn about the American icon behind the lyrics that have defined our country for decades. The collection contains 65 tracks including classics such as “This Land Is Your Land,” “Pretty Boy Floyd,” and “Riding My Car,” as well as 21 previously unreleased performance and six never-before-heard original songs.
So start your Independence Day celebration early by visiting the Smithsonian Folkway’s website to listen to the unreleased original song “Them Big City Ways” and then buy the digital download from Amazon.com.
Still can’t get enough of Woody? Visit the Woody 100 site to learn more about the year-long celebration of his 100th birthday.
Smithsonian Folkways just dropped a last minute surprise on us for Jazz Appreciation Month. Satchmo At The National Press Club: Red Beans and Rice-Ly Yours by the jazz icon Louis Armstrong is an impromptu performance at the National Press Club in Washington DC, and hit stores yesterday.
In 1971, the inventive cornet and trumpet player turned an award ceremony into an amazing performance, and unfortunately it was one of his last as Louis passed away 5 months later. This performance with longtime bandmates Tyree Glenn and Tommy Gwaltney had Armstrong belting out classics like “Mack The Knife” and “Hello Dolly,” which you can listen to exclusively here. Originally released as a limited vinyl in 1972, this legendary performance has never been available digitally — until now.
The release will be commemorated with a ceremony and concert on Friday, April 27th, at the National Press Club itself. Starting at 1:00 p.m., the event will consist of a press conference featuring officials from Smithsonian Folkways, the National Press Club and the Louis Armstrong Foundation, and a discussion with Q&A with musical experts. A reception will follow with the album played in its entirety. Get the album today, and if you’re in DC, stop by for the ceremony!
The Smithsonian Folkways label is an American institution. It is one that is known primarily for archival recordings of traditional folk, bluegrass, and children’s music. They have released amazing albums like folk legend Roscoe Holcomb’s hard hitting “The High Lonesome Sound”, former Ida vocalist Elizabeth Mitchell’s two stunning children’s albums “Sunny Day” and “You Are My Little Bird”, and one of the best box sets ever released in Harry Smith’s “Anthology of American Folk Music”. Some may not know that Smithsonian Folkways also has an amazing series that they call Tradiciones/Traditions, and since 2002 they have been showcasing the musical heritage of the 50 million Latinos living in the USA.
The 35th release in the Tradiciones/Traditions series is Imaginaries, the bilingual new album by East L.A. Chicano band Quetzal. Quetzal rose from the ashes of the 1992 L.A. uprisings as a vehicle for social commentary and activism, and to push the limits of Chicano music. Their sound is a unique blend of traditional son jarocho music from Veracruz, Mexico spiked with urban rhythms and R&B. Led by the guitarist Quetzal Flores (whose primary influences are Los Lobos, and The Smiths!), the band sets out to create music that is original, organic, and unclassifiable, and Imaginaries definitely accomplishes this goal. In a recent interview, Flores says that “Imaginaries are the spaces being created all over the world that activate the imagination in a collective effort to re-member (the opposite of dismember) humanity.” In this day and age, who can’t use a little of that…
Have a listen to the title track below, whose funky beats and thick chorus will have you instantly hooked. Quetzal‘s Imaginaries is out on February, 28th 2012.
“Imaginaries” by Quetzal from “Imaginaries” by Smithsonian Folkways
And for your viewing pleasure, here’s the first video too:
