Norah Jones leads Nominations at National Smooth Jazz Awards
April 23, 2003 - To no ones surprise Norah Jones received the most nominations with five for this years National Smooth Jazz Awards. The popular Texan was nominated for new artist, vocal and female Artist plus her song 'Don't know Why' is in the song of the year category and her album 'Come Away With Me' earned an album of the year nomination. Saxophonist Boney James received the second most nominations with four including male artist and album of the year. Other top nominees were Guitarist Norman Brown, trumpeter Chris Botti and guitarist Larry Carlton. You can vote for your favorite smooth jazz artist at www.nationalsmoothjazzawards.com. As reported yesterday the actual awards ceremony scheduled for June 18th in Los Angeles has been cancelled. Organizers cited the 'Current world climate' plus artists reluctance to fly as the major reasons for the cancellation. More on the awards

The complete list of nominees for the 2003 National Smooth Jazz Awards :

SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR:
Gerald Albright
Walter Beasley
Richard Elliot
Kenny G
Boney James
Dave Koz
Kim Waters

BRASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Greg Adams
Chris Botti
Rick Braun

GUITARIST OF THE YEAR:
Larry Carlton
Jeff Golub
Peter White
Norman Brown
Lee Ritenour
Steve Oliver

KEYBOARDIST OF THE YEAR:
David Benoit
Brian Culbertson
George Duke
Bob James
Gregg Karukas
Joe Sample

BASSIST OF THE YEAR:
Nathan East
Michael Manson
Gerald Veasley

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR:
Luis Conte
Paulhino DaCosta
Jeff Hamilton
Harvey Mason

GROUP / DUO OF THE YEAR:
Acoustic Alchemy
Braxton Bros.
BWB
Down To The Bone
Fourplay

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR:
Paul Brown (Boney James, Norman Brown, Rick Braun, Al Jarreau, Euge Groove, Larry Carlton)
Brian Culbertson (Brian Culbertson, Steve Cole)
Steve Dubin (Peter White, Richard Elliot, Jeff Lorber)
Tommy LiPuma (Diana Krall, Natalie Cole)
Arif Mardin (Norah Jones)

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Norah Jones
Michael Manson
Steve Oliver

VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Natalie Cole
Will Downing
Al Jarreau
Norah Jones
Diana Krall
Boz Scaggs

VOCAL SONG OF THE YEAR:
"Tell Me All About It" - Natalie Cole
"Don´t Know Why" - Norah Jones
"The Look of Love" - Diana Krall
"I Can´t Help It" - Will Downing
"Miss Riddle" - Boz Scaggs

INSTRUMENTAL SONG OF THE YEAR:
"X Marks the Spot" - Joe Sample
"Moring Magic" - Larry Carlton
"In the House" - Kim Waters
"RPM" - Boney James
"Pocket Change" - Chuck Loeb

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Ride - Boney James
Glow - Peter White
Just Chillin' - Norman Brown
Fuzzy Logic - David Benoit
Night Sessions - Chris Botti
Come Away With Me - Norah Jones

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Natalie Cole
Norah Jones
Diana Krall
Keiko Matsui

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Chris Botti
Larry Carlton
Kenny G
Boney James
Joe Sample