2003 Golden Score Awards – Patrick Williams, Natalie Cole

PATRICK WILLIAMS – GOLDEN SCORE AWARD

Patrick Williams is one of the most versatile composers in the music industry having composed well over 150 scores for theatrical features and television films, as well as records and concert works. As a man of diverse talents, he has received twenty-two Emmy nominations, thirteen Grammy nominations, been nominated for both the Academy Award and the Pulitzer Prize in music and has received four Emmys, two Grammys and a CableACE award. In addition, he is a recipient of the prestigious Richard Kirk Lifetime Achievement Award from B.M.I.

Recently he has finished co-producing with Gregg Field, and arranging and conducting Patti Austin’s latest recording Patti Austin To Ella, With Love; a CD in celebration of the legendary Ella Fitzgerald recorded live with the WDR Orchestra in Köln, Germany for Playboy Jazz/Concord Records. Other recent projects include the Emmy nominated score to We Were The Mulvaneys, starring Beau Bridges and Blythe Danner and Blonde, a four-hour mini-series for CBS, based on the award-winning book by Joyce Carol Oates, which is a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. A soundtrack album from Blonde was released in May 2001 on Playboy/Concord Records featuring legendary jazz greats Ray Brown, James Moody, Snooky Young, Plas Johnson, Kenny Burrell, Scott Hamilton and Bill Watrous. The Theme from Blonde was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in January 2002. In September 2001, he was awarded an Emmy for his song, A Dream That Only I Can Know from the television film Yesterday’s Children.

Williams has composed the scores for some sixty-five feature films including Breaking Away starring Dennis Quaid (20th Century Fox) (Academy Award nomination), Violets are Blue starring Kevin Kline and Sissy Spacek (Columbia), All of Me with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin (Universal), The Buddy System starring Richard Dreyfuss and Susan Sarandon (20th Century Fox), Swing Shift with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell (Warner Bros.), and It’s My Turn starring Michael Douglas and Jill Clayburgh (Columbia) Additionally, he has written many themes and scores for television series, including The Streets of San Francisco, Lou Grant, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Slap Maxwell, The Tony Randall Show, and The Magician.

Williams is also an accomplished recording artist and arranger with extensive credits. His CD release Sinatraland (EMI/Capitol), a Big Band tribute album to Frank Sinatra, was nominated for a 1998 Grammy award. He was also chosen by Frank Sinatra to act as Musical Director/Arranger- Conductor for his final studio recordings, Duets and Duets II, which have sold over six million copies. He recently completed arranging a suite for Yo Yo Ma with John Williams and the Boston Pops. He has also arranged recordings for Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Neil Diamond, Gloria Estefan, Monica Mancini, Barry Manilow, Brian Setzer, and Barbra Streisand.

Proficiency in composing for symphony orchestras as well as jazz bands has offered Williams an opportunity to develop a wide variety of works. Among his critically acclaimed compositions are An American Concerto for jazz quartet and symphony orchestra (1977 Pulitzer Prize nomination), Gulliver for symphony orchestra and narrator, with narration written by Larry Gelbart and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with narrator Sir John Gielgud (1986 Grammy Acknowledgement), and Suite Memories for Solo Trombone and Orchestra (1986 Grammy Award).

Williams’ appointment as Artistic Director for the Henry Mancini Institute adds to his impressive resume in the field of music education.

NATALIE COLE – PRESIDENT’S AWARD

An artist whose work has been making an impact on the music world since her 1975 debut, Cole’s career is rich in achievement and accomplishment. As the daughter of one of the most important vocalists of the 20th century, she has enjoyed a love affair with music buyers worldwide starting with her first album, Inseparable (1975), a gold album which earned her two Grammys. She went on to have major best-selling albums including Natalie, which went gold in 1976, Unpredictable and Thankful, which both achieved platinum sales in 1977, and 1979’s I Love You So, which also went gold.

Natalie Cole’s career reached new heights in the early ’90s, the revered and critically acclaimed Unforgettable, With Love sold an amazing 14 million copies worldwide and earned seven Grammy awards. She has continued to delight audiences worldwide and receive many awards with her albums (including her most recent album, Ask A Woman Who Knows) and many performances and concert tours.

Her autobiography, Angel on My Shoulder was adapted for television and entitled The Natalie Cole Story. Since launching her acting career in 1992, Natalie has appeared in a number of key roles, including the much-acclaimed 1994 USA Network Premiere movie Lily in Winter. A singer’s singer who always acknowledges arrangers and composers, we are honored to present the President’s Award this year to Natalie Cole.