Al Gomes and A. Michelle of Big Noise were hired
by superagent and manager
Joe D'Ambrosio to run the successful publicity campaign
that won his client, engineer and mixer Jay Newland, the
Grammy Award for
Best Jazz Vocal Album for his work on
Gregory Porter's CD 'Liquid Spirit.'
Al and A. Michelle also ran campaigns for
all of Joe's 56th Grammy Award nominees and legendary producers,
engineers and mixers including Tony Visconti, Frank Filipetti,
Lawrence Manchester, and Eric Robinson for their work on
CDs by
Dionne Warwick, Taylor Swift, David Bowie, and Motown the Musical. Al and A. Michelle met Joe at the 52nd Grammy
Awards in Los Angeles.
Gregory Porter Jazz vocalist and songwriter Gregory
Porter was born was raised in Bakersfield, California
where his mother was a minister. His debut album, 'Water,'
released in 2010 was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album
at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards and his sophomore album,
'Be Good,' garnered critical acclaim for both his distinctive
singing and compositions. The title track was also nominated
for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 55th Annual
Grammy Awards. Gregory was signed by Blue Note Records in
May 2013, and his third album, 'Liquid Spirit,' became his
highest-charting album to date. His Grammy Award win, along
with enginner and mixer Jay Newland, capped
his most successful year as a recording artist.
Dionne Warwick Legendary pop icon, five-time Grammy
Award winner, and the muse of the beloved Burt Bacharach
and Hal David songwriting team. Dionne Warwick ranks among
the 40 biggest hit makers of the entire rock era from 1955-2012,
based on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Charts. Dionne
is second only to Aretha Franklin as the most-charted female
vocalist of all-time with 56 of Dionne's singles making
the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998. These are singles
that are also a part of our life soundtrack: 'I Say a Little
Prayer,' 'Walk On By,' 'Alfie,' 'Then Came You,' and 'That's
What Friends Are For.' Dionne's newest release 'Now' celebrates
her 50 years as a solo recording artist and features new
interpretations of her classics. She was nominated for Best
Traditional Pop Vocal Album. 'Now' was engineered
by Lawrence Manchester and mixed by Frank
Filipetti, her fellow nominees. Al
Gomes and Connie Watrous oversaw Dionne's newest single 'Windmills of Your Mind.'
Taylor Swift 'Red' is the fourth studio album by
singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released in October
2012 as the follow-up to her commercially successful third
studio album, 'Speak Now.' With 'Red' spending its sixth
week atop the Billboard 200, Taylor has become the first
artist since The Beatles 43 years earlier to log six weeks
atop Billboard 200 with three consecutive studio albums.
As of today, the album had sold over 4 million copies in
the US alone. 'Red' was nominated for Album of the Year
and was engineered by Eric Robinson. This
was Taylor's second nomination for Album of the Year at
the Grammys, following her 2010 win with 'Fearless.' Al
Gomes and A. Michelle were honored to be at the Grammys
that very night to see Taylor win. She is the third woman
behind Barbra Streisand and Bonnie Raitt to receive an Album
of the Year nomination after already previously winning.
David Bowie A true musical legend in every sense
of the word. One of the most influential recording artists
of all-time. With David Bowie's string of one amazing single
after another - 'Changes,' 'Young Americans,' 'Let's Dance,'
and 'Under Pressure' with Queen - he has been a major figure
in the world of popular music for over four decades, and
is renowned as a true musical innovator. He has sold an
estimated 140 million albums. Long presumed to have retired
after 2003's 'Reality' tour, David gave his fans a gleeful
surprise on his 66th birthday with the release of the album
'The Next Day,' his first collection of new material in
a decade. He secretly worked on this album for two years
with longtime collaborator and fellow nominee, producer
Tony Visconti. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard
200 albums chart, David's biggest sales week ever. 'The
Next Day' was nominated for Best Rock Album and the single
'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)' was nominated for Best Rock
Performance. David has received 10 career Grammy nominations.
Motown the Musical The legendary Motown label literally
changed the world, breaking down color barriers and giving
the '60s a much needed calm and a chance to rejoice, and
has been in our collective musical DNA since 1959. So many
hits came from this record factory that critics started
referring to them as the 'the weekly miracles from Motown.'
The musical's story revolves around the early days of the
label and is based on founder Berry Gordy's autobiography.
Motown the Musical premiered on Broadway on April 15, 2013.
It received four Tony Award nominations. On a personal note,
the musical contains two songs near and dear to us. 'I Can't
Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)' was the #1 single on
the day that Al Gomes' love Connie Marie Watrous was born.
And when Al was nine years old, he and his friends poured
ten nickels into a jukebox and pushed the button ten times
to hear 'ABC' by The Jackson 5, which, by the ninth play
prompted the hotdog chef to pull the jukebox's plug out
of the wall and tell the kids calmly to 'g-e-t o-u-t.' Even
then, Al was lovingly obsessed with the sound of Motown
and their almighty 45 rpm singles. 'Motown the Musical'
was nominated for Best Musical Theater Album, and was produced,
engineered and mixed by Frank Filipetti.
Jay Newland wins 9th Grammy Award
Music Producer-Mixer Jay Newland won his 9th Grammy at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for recording and mixing the Best Jazz Vocal Album - Gregory Porter's Liquid Spirit (Blue Note).
When asked how he felt about
winning his ninth Grammy Award, the soft-spoken Jay remarked,
'When we're lucky enough to have the opportunity to work
with great artists such as this, we have the possibility
of making something special. This was one of those special
occurrences!'
Jay is best known for producing
and mixing Norah Jones' Grammy-winning Record Of The Year
'Don't Know Why' from her debut album, 'Come Away With Me.'
The CD has sold over 22 million copies worldwide. He went
on to record and mix her second CD, 2004's 'Feels Like Home,'
which sold more than 11 million copies worldwide.
Jay Newland's Grammy Award
wins include:
• 2014 - Best Jazz Vocal Album for Gregory Porter's 'Liquid Spirit'
• 2004 - Best Latin Jazz Album for Charlie Haden's
'Land Of The Sun'
• 2003 - Best Large Ensemble Jazz Album for Michael Brecker Quindectet's 'Wide Angles'
• 2002 - Record of The Year for Norah Jones' 'Don't Know Why'
• 2002 - Best Vocal Pop Album for Norah Jones'
'Come Away With Me'
• 2002 - Album of The Year for Norah Jones' 'Come Away With Me'
• 2002 - Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group for Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove's
'Directions in Music'
• 2002 - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Norah Jones' 'Come Away With Me'
• 2001 - Best Jazz Album for Charlie Haden's 'Nocturne'
