http://www.grammywatch.org
Protest Rally and Concert to be Held in Los Angeles on February 12
RALLY AND CONCERT WILL PROTEST CUTS TO GRAMMY AWARD CATEGORIES
All-Star Jam Session on GRAMMY Night will Celebrate Latin Jazz and Other Categories Eliminated by NARAS
LOS ANGELES (February 6, 2012) – While the National Academy of
Recording Arts and Sciences is giving out its coveted GRAMMY statuettes
at Staples Center on February 12, artists backed by concerned community
members will protest NARAS’ decision to eliminate 31 categories of
music from the 2012 GRAMMY Awards. That same evening, many of America’s
most talented music artists will hold a special concert in Los Angeles
to protest the elimination of their musical categories.
The Not Those Awards All-Star Latin Jazz Jam will take place
following a protest rally at Staples Center at the corner of Figueroa
Street and Pico Boulevard. The concert will be held at the renowned Mama
Juana’s nightclub in Studio City starting at 4:00 p.m. and continuing
into the night. Ray Carrion and His Latin Jazz All Stars will be joined
by many special guests including two-time GRAMMY winner Oscar Hernandez,
multiple GRAMMY nominee John Santos, Bobby Matos, Dr. Bobby Rodriguez
and Susie Hansen. An expanded list of special guests is available at
www.grammywatch.org.
The protest rally, which will take place from 3:30-5:00 p.m., will
include musicians, community leaders and music fans who want NARAS to
reinstate the 31 eliminated categories. Organizers of the rally include
GRAMMY Watch and Presente.org, a major national Latino political
advocacy group. Presente.org has gathered almost 20,000 signatures from
music fans nationwide to a petition demanding that NARAS restore the
eliminated GRAMMY categories; most of the signatures were gathered in
the past three days.
Latin jazz artist and educator Bobby Matos, the spokesperson for the
Los Angeles GRAMMY Watch Group, said: “We are holding this concert to
remind music fans about all the great music that has been eliminated
from the GRAMMYs. To paraphrase what Frank Sinatra said at the first
GRAMMY Awards in 1959, ‘Remember, the awards are about excellence, not
popularity.’ It is part of NARAS’ mission to support the diversity of
all American music. The current NARAS administration, under Neil
Portnow, is failing that one. The category cuts NARAS made in 2011
eliminated from this year’s awards many of the genres that are the roots
of American popular music.”
On April 6, 2011, NARAS president Neil Portnow’s surprise
announcement shocked its more than 21,000 members: The Academy
eliminated nearly one-third of its categories, thereby decreasing the
number of 2012 GRAMMY Awards from 109 to 78. The decision by NARAS
greatly reduces the chances of the artists composing, arranging and
performing music in those categories to win the music industry’s most
coveted award – The GRAMMY.
Eliminated categories include Latin jazz, contemporary jazz, Native
American, Zydeco, Cajun, classical, Hawaiian, regional Mexican and world
music as well as contemporary blues, polka and other ethnic music
categories.
The Not Those Awards All-Star Latin Jazz Jam is open to the public. A
$10 donation is requested. Mama Juana’s is located at 3707 Cahuenga
Blvd. West, Studio City, CA, 91604. One of the top nightclubs in Los
Angeles, Mama Juana’s features the best in live Latin music and salsa
dancing. The club offers an extensive menu of Latin and Caribbean drinks
and cuisine and during the concert all dinners will be half-price. For
more information call 818-505-8636 or visit www.mamajuanas.com.
ABOUT PRESENTE.ORG
With more than a quarter million members, Presente.org is a major national organization dedicated to amplifying the political voices of Latino communities in the United States. More information is available at www.presente.org.
With more than a quarter million members, Presente.org is a major national organization dedicated to amplifying the political voices of Latino communities in the United States. More information is available at www.presente.org.
ABOUT GRAMMY WATCH GROUP
The GRAMMY Watch Group is calling on NARAS to immediately restore the 31
eliminated categories. The group has held protest rallies and press
conferences in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Members of the
group include GRAMMY nominees and winners.
On August 1, 2011, four Latin jazz musicians, Bobby Sanabria, Mark
Levine, Doctors Benjamin Lapidus and Eugene Marlow, filed a historic
class action lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court against NARAS
for the elimination of the Latin jazz GRAMMY category.
For more information, please visit www.GRAMMYwatch.org.
PRESS CONTACT: Robert Sax
SAX PR/Marketing
818-508-7660
robert@saxpr.net
SAX PR/Marketing
818-508-7660
robert@saxpr.net
# # #
Act NOW! Tell NARAS and CBS to Restore the 31 Grammy categories to the Awards:
On his weekly syndicated radio program, the Reverend Jesse Jackson
hosted a lively roundtable discussion on NARAS’ elimination of
traditional minority music Grammys. Included were Latin Jazz bandleader
Bobby Sanabria and attorney Roger Maldondo, along with San Francisco singer and past NARAS Governor Sandy Cressman, author Danny Schechter, and Jonathan Jackson, National Spokesman of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. The program can be heard here:
Listen NOW:
Carlos Santana and Jesse Jackson
As he entered this segment of the broadcast, Rev. Jackson offered a brief tribute to the memory of Etta James,
who passed away on January 20th. Two of her last Grammy Awards, in
the Traditional and Contemporary Blues categories, were both eliminated
by NARAS.
Throughout the program Rev. Jackson and guests evoked the social and
political context surrounding the elimination of the minority award
categories, including the disenfranchisement of minority communities,
the impacts on youth, access to capital, and effects on the cultural and
musical landscape.
In looking ahead, the discussion wound up considering the next steps
toward restoring musical diversity to the Grammy awards, with
recommendations for what music communities and supporters could do to
help, including:
- Write to NARAS President Neil Portnow at neil@grammy.com, and express your concerns, and urge him to facilitate efforts to restore the Grammy categories in a fair and inclusive manner
- Contact the NARAS Board of Trustees. listed at www.Grammy.org [link]
- Write to CBS Television at the following link:
http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php
- Contact the list of sponsors and advertisers for the Grammy Awards [link], tell them to reconsider their support for the live broadcast, or face a boycot
- Sign the Petition at www.GrammyWatch.org, and stay abreast of updates
Also, San Francisco NARAS Members, residents, business owners,
nonprofit representatives and music community supporters are urged to
contact the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before January 31st to
support a Resolution in to restore the Grammy categories eliminated from
the awards.
Below is a listing of contact information for the San Francisco Supervisors and legislative aides. More information at www.sfbos.org . Read more
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