TELARC AND HEADS UP WIN 3 GRAMMY AWARDS

Cleveland, OH – Telarc International and Heads Up International, divisions of Concord Music Group, have been honored with 3 GRAMMY® Awards by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) at the 51st Annual GRAMMY® Awards Ceremony on Sunday, February 8, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Since 1980, Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group, has been honored with 57 GRAMMY® Awards for performance, production, and engineering. Other important awards have included the French Grand Prix du Disque and Diapason d’Or; Japan’s Record of the Year; Germany’s Audiophile CD of the Year; and Gramophone Magazine’s 2004 Label of the Year. Although it began as a classical-only label, Telarc now boasts a catalog of more than 1000 recordings, ranging from classical and classical-crossover to jazz, contemporary jazz, Americana, pop and blues. Telarc releases approximately fifty-five recordings each year, working with a notable roster of artists.

For nearly 20 years, Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group, has been successfully carving its niche in the world of contemporary instrumental music. In that time, Heads Up artists and releases have consistently landed on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz, Traditional Jazz and World Music charts, and have garnered numerous industry awards, including Billboard’s Contemporary Latin Jazz Album of the Year, the AFIM’s Independent Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year, six GRAMMY® Awards and numerous GRAMMY® nominations. Heads Up was also the winner of JazzWeek’s Radio Programmers Album Of The Year Award for two consecutive years, and Gibson Guitar’s Best Female Jazz Guitarist. In addition to the awards and accolades, Heads Up artists have regularly captured the #1 slot in national radio airplay.

John Soeder, of the Clevland Plain dealer wrote:

Among the nominees at the 51st annual Grammy Awards [were] several contenders with Northeast Ohio ties. Music issued by record companies Telarc and Heads Up, headquartered in the same office space in Beachwood, garnered 19 nominations, including a nod for Telarc President Robert Woods in the classical producer of the year category.

The Heads Up nominees [included] releases by the Yellowjackets ("Lifecycle") and Taj Mahal ("Maestro"), who [was] up for best contemporary jazz album and best contemporary blues album, respectively. The labels are divisions of the Concord Music Group.

"There's a sexiness to the fact that we're here in Beachwood, not in L.A. or in New York City," says Dave Love, president of Heads Up.,/p>

"We know we've got something very special here in Northeast Ohio," says Love, who plans to attend today's Grammy festivities.

Love stated in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "we don't necessarily go into a project thinking our ultimate goal is to win a Grammy. . . . But it never gets old. It's really exhilarating. The fact that your peers are choosing the top records of the year is special."

Tenor sax player Joe Lovano, a Euclid native, [was] up for two Grammys, including best large jazz ensemble album for "Symphonica."

Cleveland's Bob Kravos and his band received a best polka album nomination for their contributions to "Back to Back Hall of Fame Polkas" and [competed] for the same award is ex-Clevelander Lynn Marie.

"Reflections," by Cleveland native Jason Champion (formerly of Men at Large), [was] vying for best contemporary R&B gospel album.

For more information on Telarc International / Heads Up

stop by and visit:

http://www.telarc.com/

http://www.headsup.com/