Yamaha Artist Norah Jones Leads 45th Grammy Winners

BUENA PARK, CA (February 27, 2003) — Norah Jones hit a grand slam at the 45th annual GRAMMY® Awards, held Sunday, February 23, 2003 at New York's Madison Square Garden, with a total of five wins. The 23-year-old jazz-pop vocalist's awards included Album of the Year, Come Away With Me; Best New Artist; Record of the Year, "Don't Know Why"; Pop Vocal Album, Come Away With Me; and Female Pop Vocal Performance, "Don't Know Why." Jones' album also won in the following categories: Song of the Year, "Don't Know Why," written by Jesse Harris; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Come Away With Me, engineered by S. Husky Höskulds & Jay Newland; and Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, Come Away With Me, produced by Arif Mardin.

Jones performed "Don't Know Why" on a Yamaha C7 piano. Vanessa Carlton performed her GRAMMY-nominated song, "A Thousand Miles" on the Yamaha CFIIIS grand piano. Coldplay's Chris Martin performed "Politik" on a Yamaha upright piano. Ashanti sang "Dreams," accompanied by The New York Philharmonic Orchestra and a C7. Roy Bittan, Bruce Springsteen's accompanist, played a C7 for "The Rising."

"We are overwhelmingly proud of Norah and her accomplishments, and proud to have her and all of the other Yamaha artists nominated as part of our family," states Chris Gero, corporate director of artist affairs, Yamaha Corporation of America.

Yamaha took the stage again this year maintaining a high presence at the prestigious event by providing all the pianos, many of the drum kits and scores of other gear. Steve Jordan performed "You're An Original" with Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock using a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute with Vintage Hoops drum kit; Ahmir Thompson used a Maple Custom Absolute NOUVEAU kit during Eminems song "Lose Yourself" with the Roots; and Will Champion from Coldplay drummed on a Maple Custom Absolute for "Politik."

The star of GRAMMY night was undoubtedly Jones. She was born on March 30, 1979, in New York City. Although she is the daughter of the legendary sitar guru Ravi Shankar, Jones was brought up solely by her mother, Sue. At four years old, Jones and her mother moved to the Dallas suburb of Grapevine, Texas. Her earliest musical influences came from her mother's extensive LP collection, which included jazz albums by Billie Holiday. Jones sang in church choirs at age five, commenced piano lessons two years later and briefly played alto saxophone in junior high. At 15, she moved to Dallas, where she attended the Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts. After graduation, she enrolled at the University of North Texas – nationally renowned for its musical programs – to major in jazz piano.

In 1999 Jones returned to New York City. She soon assembled her own group, and in 2001, signed with Blue Note records. Jones' first album, Come Away with Me, debuted in February 2002 and has sold 10 times more than any album in Blue Note's history.

In addition to Jones, other Yamaha artist winners included the Caribbean Jazz Project (featuring David Valentin and David Samuels) for Best Latin Jazz Album, The Gathering; Tony Bennett for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, for Playin' With My Friends: Bennett Sings The Blues; Coldplay, for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, "In My Place," and Best Alternative Music Album, A Rush of Blood to the Head; Usher, for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance "U Don't Have To Call"; conductor Michael Tilson Thomas (San Francisco Symphony), for Best Orchestral Performance, Mahler: Symphony No. 6; Pat Metheny Group (featuring Antonio Sanchez), for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Speaking Of Now; and Stevie Wonder & Take 6, for Best R & B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocals for "Love's In Need of Love Today."

Other Yamaha affiliated artist nominees included Sir Elton John, Brian McKnight, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Dave and Jeff Koz, John Tesh, James Newton Howard, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Juan Pablo Torres, the Yellowjackets' (with Marcus Baylor) and Godsmack.

For the first time in history, the Grammy Awards were broadcast in 5.1 HDTV with the help of Onsite Recording and its Yamaha DM2000 digital console. Phil Ramone, one of the show's producers, and remote recording engineer Randy Ezratty spearheaded the surround sound mix.

In related news, GRAMMY-winning artist and international superstar Bono of U2 was honored as the 2003 MusiCares Person of the Year. Chosen for his accomplishments as a musician and as a humanitarian, Bono received the honor at a special tribute dinner and concert held at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel on Friday, February 21. Prolific music producer and Yamaha artist Phil Ramone produced the event. Musical Director Rob Mathes performed on a Yamaha CFIIIS grand piano.

For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Artists Services, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9011 or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.