ARSC is pleased to announce the winners of the 2004 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. The awards recognize outstanding published research--books, articles, liner notes and monographs--in the field of recorded sound. The 2004 Awards for Excellence honor works published in 2003. BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED POPULAR MUSIC Best Discography. Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1890-1930, by Don Rayno (Scarecrow Press). Best History. Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions, by Mark Eden Horowitz and Stephen Sondheim (Scarecrow Press). BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED CLASSICAL MUSIC Performing Brahms: Early Evidence of Performing Style, by Michael Musgrave (ed.) and Bernard D. Sherman (ed.) (Cambridge University Press). BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED ROCK, RHYTHM & BLUES or SOUL two winners (tie) The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music, by Teresa L. Reed (University Press of Kentucky). Swinging the Machine: Modernity, Technology and African-American Culture Between the World Wars, by Joel Dinerstein (University of Massachusetts Press). BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED JAZZ MUSIC Best History. Good Vibes: A Life in Jazz, by Terry Gibbs and Cary Ginell (Rowman & Littlefield). Best Discography. Jean "Django" Reinhardt: A Contextual Bio-Discography, 1910-1953, by Paul Vernon (Ashgate). BEST RESEARCH in RECORDED BLUES and GOSPEL MUSIC Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music, by Jerome Zolten (Oxford University Press). BEST RESEARCH in RECORD LABELS or MANUFACTURERS Folkways Records: Moses Asch and his Encyclopedia of Sound, by Anthony Olmsted (Routledge). ARSC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD This award is presented to an individual, in recognition of a life's work in research and publication. The winner of the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award is Tim Brooks. Mr. Brooks currently serves as the Vice President of Research at USA Network, in New York City. He is the author of the recently published Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919 and co-author of the Columbia Master Book Discography, Volumes I-IV. Mr. Brooks has written many articles for the ARSC Journal, the New Amberola Graphic and other publications. ARSC AWARD for DISTINGUISHED SERVICE to HISTORICAL RECORDINGS This award honors a person who has made outstanding contributions to the field, outside of published works or discographic research. The winner of the 2004 Distinguished Service Award is Jack Towers. Mr. Towers recorded the now-famous Duke [Ellington] at Fargo 1940 concert, which was released in 2000, in a special 60th anniversary CD edition. In 1941, Mr. Towers handled radio broadcasting at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He retired from federal service in 1974. Since then, he has used his skill in disc and tape recording, to restore historical recordings for many record producers including the Smithsonian Institution, Columbia Records, the Book of the Month, Musicraft and Delmark. NOMINATIONS Nominations are open for the 2005 ARSC Awards. Works first published in 2004 are eligible to be nominated for the Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Nominations are also being accepted for the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Distinguished Service to Historic Recordings Award. To make a nomination or for more information, contact Michael H. Gray, ARSC Awards Co-chair, at [log in to unmask] . The deadline for nominations is January 31, 2005. Anna-Maria Manuel ARSC Outreach Committee Chair