cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins CD Wins Top National Awards New CD Picked for Child magazines Best CDs of the Year" and Wins Parents Choice Gold, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold and iParenting Media Hot"Awards

Ella Jenkins tribute CD celebrates the "First Lady of Children's Music"

(PRWEB) November 24, 2004 -- A new CD from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, "cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins," has won top awards from Child magazine, Parents Choice, and the iParenting Awards.

In citing "cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins" as one of the top 10 childrens music recordings of the year, Child magazine says the CD is proof of why (Ella) is truly a multigenerational musical force." Likewise, the judges for the nonprofit Parents Choice Foundation chose the CD as one of only five winners of its top-level Gold Award (see www.parents-choice.org). Oppenheim Toy Portfolio granted the CD a Gold award (www.toyportfolio.com) and the iParenting Media Awards (www.iparentingmediaawards.com) gave the CD a Hot" Award, citing its sparkling new renditions of Ellas timeless repertoire."

Ella Jenkins, The First Lady of Childrens Music," has raised at least two generations of children with her vast collection of songs and recordings. Now, top artists pay tribute to Jenkins stellar career, which was capped this year by a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy (www.grammy.com). Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, who themselves won a GRAMMY in 2004, produced cELLAbration! for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

"cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins" features bright new arrangements of some of Jenkins most loved songs. Artists include Pete Seeger, Sweet Honey in The Rock, Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, Tom Chapin, Tom Paxton, Bill Harley, Red Grammer, John McCutcheon, Riders in the Sky, Mariachi los Camperos, Mike Stein, and Michele Valeri. Childrens voices also play a key role on this recording.

In her nearly 50-year career as a songwriter and educator, Ella Jenkins has taken on the role of an ethnomusicologist, drawing upon the wealth of American musical and rhythmic traditions in her work for children. This trend-setter has created dozens of recordings for Folkways and earned countless awards. As she celebrates her 80th birthday this year, several artists were moved to perform Jenkins classic tunes, arranging them in new and unique ways. "cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins" represents a multicultural, multilingual mix with a vast range of musical styles including folk, salsa, country-western, Dixieland, ragtime, mariachi, and African rhythms.

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. The labels mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document peoples music," spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. The Smithsonian acquired Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued the Folkways tradition by supporting the work of traditional artists and expressing a commitment to cultural diversity, education, and increased understanding.

All of Ella Jenkins recordings, including "cELLAbration! A Tribute to Ella Jenkins," are available from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. For more information, visit www.folkways.si.edu.

Ordering Information: www.folkways.si.edu and various distributors and retailers. Ph: 888.FOLKWAYS or 800.410.9815, Fax: 202.275.1165, e-mail: folkways@aol.com

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