New York, NY, April 23, 2008: Distinguished members of the entertainment community gathered in New York City on Tuesday, April 22nd to honor Quincy Jones with the prestigious ASCAP Pied Piper Award. Celebrating his 75th birthday, Quincy Jones —composer, arranger, conductor, producer—is one of the foremost exponents of American Music and its best ambassador worldwide. ASCAP President & Chairman Marilyn Bergman hosted the invitation-only, all-star musical celebration at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.
The evening was highlighted with a musical tribute to Mr. Jones featuring friends and admirers from the songwriting and performing world, including Ashford & Simpson, Patti Austin, Tony Bennett, Tevin Campbell, James Ingram, Gloria Estefan, Roberta Flack, Siedah Garrett, Savion Glover, Lesley Gore, Al Jarreau, Opus 118 Harlem School of Music, Greg Phillinganes, Take 6, Tamia, James Moody, Clark Terry, James D-Train Williams, and cast members of Stomp.
Those in attendance included Johntá Austin, Kathleen Battle, Jellybean Benitez, Hal David, Jon Faddis, Michael Feinstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Chuck Jackson, Hal Jackson, Johnny Mandel, Melle Mel, Rev. Al Sharpton, Julie Taymor, Jimmy Webb, Bebe Winans, and others.
Commenting on the celebration of Jones, Marilyn Bergman said, \"Quincy Jones is an original, one of music\'s true renaissance men who has done everything. And through American Popular Music – Jazz, R&B, Pop, Rap and music for Film and Television – Quincy has touched virtually everyone with an ear tuned in to our nation\'s talent and its culture. He has reached his 75th birthday but his perpetual energy and activity make him forever young, whether creating music, encouraging music creators or bringing music to millions everywhere. Quincy is most worthy of the highest honor bestowed by ASCAP – the Pied Piper Award.\"
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About ASCAP*
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world\'s largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 315,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with over 90 music rights organizations such that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com
Contacts:
Bobbi Marcus PR & Events, Inc.
Bobbi Marcus / 310-889-9200
bobbi.marcus@bobbimarcuspr.com
ASCAP
Esther SanSaurus / 212-621-6323
ESanSaurus@ascap.com