For the 17th time, Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning composer, musician and recording artist Kitaro has captured a Grammy nomination for this year’s 60th anniversary of the Grammys.
Kitaro’s Best New Age Album nomination is for his full-length album release “Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Volume 5.”
“I want to thank the Grammy and NARAS [National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences] and Recording Academy members and voters, as well as all of the Domo Records team, for making this nomination a reality,” Kitaro said. “I am extremely proud of this project and am pleased to have it received in such a positive manner.”
“Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai Volume 5” follows the highly acclaimed Volumes 1 through 4 of the series, all of which have earned Grammy nominations. The series concept arose after the global events on the fateful day of Sept. 11, 2001. Kitaro was traveling on a jet from Japan to Los Angeles when the transcontinental flight was diverted to Hawaii for five days due to the tragedy. It was during this time of disbelief and uncertainty that he envisioned the Ku-Kai series as a means of uniting the world through music embracing his frequently referenced universal message of peace.
The latest release is an earthly voyage that transports the listener to Shikoku, one of Japan’s four main islands. It pays homage to the beloved Buddhist holy man Ku-Kai, who traveled the 750-mile pilgrimage to the 88 sacred temples on the island over 1,100 years ago. Each track on the album revolves around an audio sample of the bell sound from each temple. Kitaro distills their essences with inspired musical interpretations.
The Recording Academy will present the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 28, live from Madison Square Garden in New York. The festivities will be broadcast on CBS from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Pacific Time.
Also nominated in the Best New Age Album category are Brian Eno for “Reflection,” India Arie for “SongVersation Medicine,” Peter Kater for “Dancing on Water,” and Steve Roach for “Spiral Revelation.”
Nominees in other categories include:
Album of the Year and Best R&B Album — Bruno Mars for “24K Magic”
Song of the Year and Best R&B Song — Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip for “That’s What I Like”
Best R&B Performance — Bruno Mars for “That’s What I Like”
Best Regional Roots Music Album — Ho’okena for “Ho’okena 3.0”; Josh Tatofi for “Pua Kiele” (There is no longer a separate category for Hawaiian music)
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media — “Moana: The Songs” (various artists)
Best Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package — Masaki Koike, art director, for The Grateful Dead’s “May 1977: Get Shown the Light”
Producer of the Year, Classical — Manfred Eicher, whose records include “Point & Line: Debussy & Hosokawa” by Momo Kodama; Judith Sherman, whose records include “The Birthday Party” by Aki Takahashi and “26” by Melia Watras and Michael Jinsoo Lim
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance — Joyce Yang and Augustin Hadelich for “Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann”
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album — Nicholas Phan and Myra Huang (accompanist) for “Gods & Monsters”
Best Contemporary Classical Composition — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) for “Concerto for Orchestra”
For more information on the Grammys: https://www.grammy.com
For more information on Kitaro: https://www.domomusicgroup.com/kitaro/