May 6, 2014 - - The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), widely recognized as the most prestigious and respected songwriting competition in the world, has today announced its 2013 winners.
ISC's highest distinction, the Grand Prize, is awarded to Japanese trumpeter Shunzo Ohno for his song "Musashi." This is the first time in the 13-year history of ISC that the Grand Prize has been awarded to a songwriter in the Jazz category.
In addition to the Grand Prize, artists Yuto Kanazawa, Rashid Lanie, and Jason Anick garner the First, Second, and Third Place wins in Jazz, one of ISC's most competitive categories.
Jazz winners were selected by recording artists Joshua Redman and Boney James. Other category judges included Imagine Dragons, Martina McBride, Josh Turner, Keane, Jon Secada, Dido, Garbage, Darryl McDaniels, James Cotton, Jason Isbell, Anoushka Shankar, Monte Lipman (Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, Republic Records), Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records), Alison Donald (Co-President, Columbia Records UK), and more.
"It is vital for songwriters to be recognized for their talents and awarded the due respect for their accomplishments," states Candace Avery, Founder and Director. "This year we have awarded our highest honor, the ISC Grand Prize, to a Jazz artist, and we applaud the importance of this genre in our musical landscape. The recipient, Shunzo Ohno, greatly deserves this honor, and ISC is proud to bestow this award on him."
Shunzo Ohno is a virtuosic jazz trumpeter and an accomplished composer and arranger. One of the leading jazz trumpeters in his native Japan by the age of 19, Ohno moved to New York City in 1974 to perform with jazz legend Art Blakey & The Messengers. Since then, he has performed and toured with many more of the world's greatest jazz artists, including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, Larry Coryell, Machito & His Afro-Cuban Orchestra, and others. With numerous recordings under his own name as a leader, he has also appeared on over 30 more as a sideman and has collaborated on two Grammy winning recordings.
Ohno has been described as modest and seemingly shy, and he has overcome health challenges in his life that would have potentially ended any musician's career, especially a trumpet player. Surviving both a serious car accident in which his teeth and lips were permanently damaged and a later bout of throat cancer which forced him to relearn his playing, he is a testament to determination and courage, even inspiring a biography and documentary in Japan about his life.
Ohno's inspiration for the winning song came from a character in Japanese history, Musashi, who lived in the 1500-1600s. He was a writer, painter, and skilled swordsman who was undefeated. He was thought to be a deep thinker with an extreme sense of individuality and strength, and he traveled through the woods and mountains of Japan. Ohno says, "I wrote the song at a time in my life when a sense of courage was necessary. I was searching for that particular sense of courage, to be undefeated in the midst of what seemed impossible. I wanted to express that sense of being fearless in the midst of what may seem chaotic and unsupportive. I found in Musashi a pure vision of unique courage. It is my hope others might feel that sense of tenacious determination and courage - in an adventurous way."
For a more in-depth bio, please go to http://www.songwritingcompetit
Based in the USA and established in 2002, ISC awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to amateur and professional songwriters around the world. A total of 68 winners from 120 countries worldwide were selected from almost 20,000 entries. The Grand Prize winner is awarded $25,000 in
cash (US) and an additional $35,000 in merchandise and services.
2013 Jazz Winners Include:
First Place
"Truth & The Abstract Blues Ft. Kurt Elling" - Yuto Kanazawa (Shirakawa City, Japan)
First Place goes to Yuto Kanazawa, a guitarist and composer who grew up in Tokyo and Fukushima, Japan. He studied at Koyo Conservatory Kobe before moving to the United States and graduating from Berklee College of Music. Kanazawa released his first album, Earthwards, from Interrobang Records featuring Grammy winning vocalist Kurt Elling on the album's final track and ISC-winning song, "Truth & the Abstract Blues." Kanazawa has been integral in The United East Jazz Quintet, a collaborative project between Korean and Japanese young jazz musicians. The band toured 12 locations in Korea and Japan, performing concerts and giving clinics for college students in June, 2013, including a sold-out concert in his hometown of Shirakawa City, Fukushima. Kanazawa is currently based in NY and recently joined the NY Jazz Workshop as the youngest member of the faculty.
Second Place
"Ehlatini (The Bush)" - Rashid Lanie (Johannesburg, South Africa) RA
South African artist Rashid Lanie garners Second Place Winner in the Jazz category for the song "Ehlatini (The Bush)." An acclaimed pianist, composer, producer, and recording artist, Lanie performed in the World Cup 2010 Kick-Off Celebration Concert with Alicia Keyes, Angelique Kidjo, Shakira, John Legend, and Black Eyed Peas. He has also worked with Randy Brecker, Hugh Masekela, Ernie Watts, and pop artists Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, and others. He was the musical director for the launch of The Lion King album Rhythm Of The Pridelands. Lanie is well-known in South Africa not just for his musical accomplishments but also for his political activism in the fight against Apartheid. In 1992, he was commissioned to write a song celebrating Mandela's release from prison, and he has spoken at the United Nations on behalf of South African musicians. He was honored to have performed for the Dalai Lama at the 1999 Sacred Music Festival.
Third Place
"Occupy" - Jason Anick - Boston, MA, USA
One of the youngest instructors at Berklee College of Music, Anick takes home Third Place with the song "Occupy." Anick is considered "a rising star in the world of jazz violin and mandolin"- Downbeat Magazine. In addition to leading his own ensemble and performing with the Rhythm Future Quartet, Anick has been touring and recording with Grammy award-winning Nashville guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson since 2008. Talk to the abundantly gifted violinist and mandolin player Jason Anick and the phrase " jazz without borders" will invariably come up. What the axiom means to Anick is a contemporary jazz that is stylistically inclusive in nature, a jazz that brings whatever it can to the party, unwilling to cut something out of the mix for fear of it not fitting prescribed boundaries. A demonstration of the maxim in action can be found on Anick's second album as a leader, Tipping Point, which has been gaining critical acclaim. His performances have taken him all over the world to China, Europe, and Japan and renowned venues such as The Montreal Jazz Festival, Scullers Jazz Club, Yoshi's Jazz Club, The Iridium, and The Regattabar.
In addition to these winners, 10 other deserving Jazz songs garner an Honorable Mention in the category:
"Agog" - Bruno Raberg (Lexington, MA, USA)
"Bunyips" - Tony Barnard (Sydney, NSW, Australia)
"Crossing Colors - Harmony" - Yuichiro Tokuda (Chiba, Japan)
"Dog Dance" - Jerry De Villiers Jr. (St-Hubert, QC, Canada)
"Inspiration Point" - Jason Anick (Boston, MA, USA)
"King Cyrus Enters Babylon" - Daren Burns (Sedona, AZ, USA)
"Magnetic Whale" - Luka Veselinovic (Zagreb, Croatia)
"My Lover And My Friend" - Gregg Arthur, Casper Tromp (Sydney, NSW,
Australia)
"Phantom Fish" - Sérgio Galvão (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
"Top Dog" - Jens Larsen / Træben (Skjern, Denmark)
ISC is sponsored by: Presonus, Lowden Guitars, Marshall Amplification, Solid State Logic, Berklee College Of Music, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Airplay Direct, D'Addario, DiscMakers, Thayers, SongU.com, Sonicbids, The Music Business Registry, Indie Venue Bible, Celebrity Access, Tunecore, Independent Mastering, George Stein, Esq., Songtrust, and Taxi.
For a complete list of 2013 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs, go to http://www.songwritingcompetit
To download low-res photos of all winners, go to http://www.songwritingcompetit
For high-res photos, please contact Candace Avery at cavery@
ISC is now accepting entries for 2014. More information can be found at: http://www.songwritingcompetit
