REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 15, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that high definition compatible digital (HDCD)-encoded CDs received 42 nominations for the 43rd annual GRAMMY Awards. HDCD recordings were nominated in 35 award categories and include works by such artists as Beck, Phish, Steely Dan and Emmylou Harris.
HDCD is a patented process for improving the fidelity of audio CDs that preserves vital musical information normally lost when analog-to-digital conversion takes place. It provides more dynamic range, a more focused 3-D sound stage, and natural musical and vocal timbre for the full body, depth, and emotion of the original performance. HDCD recordings can be played on standard consumer or computer CD players, although the greatest benefit is achieved with HDCD-equipped CD players. More than 5,000 HDCD albums have been produced to date, and more than 300 million individual HDCD CDs have been sold. Microsoft acquired the HDCD technology last year when it purchased Pacific Microsonics Inc., the developer of HDCD digital audio technology.
“We applaud the success of these great artists who are using HDCD technology for their recordings,”
said Jonathan Usher, group product manager for the Digital Media Division at Microsoft.
“It is through the work of thousands of artists like these that millions of music fans worldwide are discovering how HDCD adds life and clarity to CD recordings, improving audio quality for all genres of music.”
This year’s GRAMMY nominees using Microsoft® HDCD technology (album tracks in parentheses) include the following:
-
Alabama, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, (
“Twentieth Century”
),
“Twentieth Century” -
Alan Jackson, Best Country Album,
“Under the Influence” -
Alison Brown With Bela Fleck, Best Country Instrumental Performance, (
“Leaving Cottondale”
),
“Fair Weather” -
Asleep at the Wheel, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, (
“Cherokee Maiden”
),
“Back to the Future Now: Live at Arizona Charlie’s” -
Avalon, Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album,
“Joy” -
Beck, Album of the Year, Alternative Music Album,
“Midnite Vultures” -
Blue Man Group, Best Pop Instrumental Album,
“Audio” -
Brian Setzer Orchestra, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, (
“Caravan”
),
“Vavoom” -
Bryan Ferry, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album,
“As Time Goes By” -
Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Best Musical Album for Children,
“Pillow Full of Wishes” -
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Best Contemporary Jazz Album,
“Outbound” -
Peter Frampton, Best Rock Instrumental Performance, (
“Off the Hook”
),
“Live in Detroit” -
Vince Gill, Best Male Country Vocal Performance, (
“One Voice”
),
“Let’s Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye”
); Best Country Song, (
“One Voice”
) -
Emmylou Harris, Best Contemporary Folk Album,
“Red Dirt Girl” -
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Best Rock Instrumental Performance, (
“Electric Lullaby”
),
“Live On” -
Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album,
“Just Over in Heaven” -
Joni Mitchell, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, (
“Both Sides Now”
),
“Both Sides Now”
; Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist(s) (
“Both Sides Now”
); Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album,
“Both Sides Now” -
Willie Nelson, Best Long Form Music Video,
“Teatro” -
Eliades Ochoa, Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album,
“Tribute to the Cuarteto Patria” -
Brad Paisley, Best New Artist,
“Who Needs Pictures” -
Phish, Best Rock Instrumental Performance, (
“First Tube”
),
“Farmhouse” -
Paul Simon, Album of the Year,
“You’re the One” -
Ricky Skaggs, Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, (
“Walk Softly”
),
“Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe”
; Best Bluegrass Album,
“Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe” -
“High Fidelity (Soundtrack),”
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media -
“American Beauty (Original Film Score),”
Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media -
Steely Dan, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, (
“Cousin Dupree”
),
“Two Against Nature”
; Album of the Year,
“Two Against Nature” -
Jaci Velasquez, Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album,
“Crystal Clear” -
Riders in the Sky, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, (
“Woody’s Roundup”
),
“Toy Story 2 (Soundtrack)”
; Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (
“Woody’s Roundup”
),
“Toy Story 2 (Soundtrack),”
Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media -
Steve Wariner, Best Country Instrumental Performance, (
“Bloodlines”
),
“Faith in You” -
The Wilkinsons, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, (
“Jimmy’s Got a Girlfriend”
),
“Here and Now” -
Lee Ann Womack, Song of the Year (
“I Hope You Dance”
);
“I Hope You Dance”
; Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, (
“I Hope You Dance”
); Best Country Album,
“I Hope You Dance”
HDCD-encoded CDs are available at all retail music stores as well as the HDCD Music Store at http://www.hdcd.com/ .
This year’s GRAMMY Awards will be presented in Los Angeles on Feb. 21, 2001.
About Windows Media
Windows Media is the leading digital media platform, providing unmatched audio and video quality to consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations. Windows Media offers the industry’s only integrated rights-management solution and the most scalable and reliable streaming technology tested by independent labs. Windows Media Technologies includes Windows Media Player for consumers, Windows Media Services for servers, Windows Media Tools for content creation, and the Windows Media Software Development Kit (SDK) for software developers. Windows Media Player, available in 26 languages, is the fastest-growing media player. More information about Windows Media can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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