FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 10, 2005

Contact: Liz Milner (703) 658-0957

Jennifer Cutting Wins Five WAMMY Awards for Ocean CD

(Washington DC) - Jennifer Cutting swept the 19th annual Washington Area Music Awards, (the “WAMMIES”) held at the new Strathmore Music Center on Feb. 7. The Celtic-folk composer-producer took home five Wammies for OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey, including Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Musician of the Year, and Best Contemporary Folk Recording.

For this album, Cutting returned to her English and Irish heritage to create a collage of sea-inspired pieces showcasing a global orchestra of Celtic, pop, symphonic and electronic musicians, including internationally acclaimed artists such as Maddy Prior and Peter Knight (Steeleye Span), the late Tony Cuffe (Ossian), Gabriel Yacoub, Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Paul McCartney), Troy Donockley (Iona) and Washington D.C.-area luminaries Grace Griffith, John Jennings (Mary Chapin Carpenter Band), Sue Richards and Zan McLeod.

Cutting’s 13 nominations seemingly came out of nowhere, given that this ethnomusicologist employed at the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture had been out of the limelight for seven years. But the five wins were no surprise to anyone familiar with her last band project, the British folk-rock group The New St. George, whose recordings are enduringly popular on NPR and college radio.

“Cutting is all about art and personal excellence, and stayed underground until she was ready to emerge on her own terms,” the Washington Post observed in its awards night coverage.

Indeed, OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey was seven years and five transatlantic crossings in the making, and has been described as “Celtic music for ancient moderns”.

OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey is in its third month on NAR’s Top 20 National Radio Airplay Chart. Tracks have aired on syndicated shows such as National Public Radio’s “Atlantic Crossing,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Celebration Starsong,” Netscape Radio, XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.

OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey (Sunsign Records) is available at major retailers, independent music stores and on-line. For sound clips, visit www.jennifercutting.com.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Jennifer Cutting:
PJ Birosik
Musik International
303-444-9575
info@musikinternational.com