International Songwriting Competition Awards Grand Prize to Jazz Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno

International Songwriting Competition Awards Grand Prize to Jazz Trumpeter Shunzo Ohno

Celebrity panel selects remarkable Japanese musician for his song "Musashi"

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), recognized as the most prestigious and respected international songwriting competition, has today announced its 2013 winners.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140506/85155

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ISC's overall Grand Prize is awarded to Japanese trumpeter Shunzo Ohno for his song "Musashi," entered in the Jazz category. This is the first time in the 13-year history of ISC that the Grand Prize has been awarded to either an artist in the Jazz category or an artist from Japan.

Winners were selected by a panel of judges which included Imagine Dragons, Martina McBride, Joshua Redman, Josh Turner, Keane, Jon Secada, Dido, Garbage, Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.), James Cotton, Boney James, Jason Isbell, Anoushka Shankar, Monte Lipman (Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Republic Records), Dan McCarroll (President, Warner Bros. Records), Alison Donald (Co-President, Columbia Records UK), and more.

Founder and Director Candace Avery states, "It is vital for all artists to be recognized for their talents and awarded the due respect for their accomplishments. This year we have awarded 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. Ohno has performed with jazz legends Art Blakey & The Messengers, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, Larry Coryell, Machito & His Afro-Cuban Orchestra, and many more. 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. 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.

For a more in-depth bio on Ohno, please go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/pressreleases

ISC awards more than $150,000 in cash and prizes to amateur and professional songwriters around the world. The Grand Prize winner is awarded $25,000 in cash (US) and an additional $35,000 in merchandise and services. Previous ISC winners include Bastille, Passenger, Lindsey Stirling, Gotye, The Band Perry, Kasey Chambers, Gin Wigmore, King Charles, Kimbra, Gregory Porter, Omar Sosa, and many more.

For a complete list of 2013 ISC winners and to hear the winning songs, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners

For more info, please contact Candace Avery at 615-251-4441 or via email.

2013 Sponsors: 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.

SOURCE International Songwriting Competition

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International Songwriting Competition

Web Site: http://www.songwritingcompetition.com


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