Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, Compiled by Sarah Benzuly

Musician, producer and composer Al Kooper will be honored with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 23rd Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held on October 6, 2007, at the New York Marriott Marquis. Sponsored by Gibson Guitar, the award will be presented by Paul.

Hailed as a musical innovator for nearly 50 years, Kooper has played a pivotal role in some of rock's historic moments. Well known as a founder of both the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears in the 1960s, Kooper's work as a producer and musician has made a lasting impact on the soundtrack of some of rock's greatest hits. As a producer, he is best known for discovering Lynyrd Skynyrd and producing their first three albums. He went on to play sessions with Jimi Hendrix, The Who and George Harrison, and teamed with guitarists Michael Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to record Top 10 album Super Session. He has produced albums for such artists as The Tubes, Nils Lofgren, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Joe Ely, Green on Red and many others. Kooper also scored Hal Ashby's first film, The Landlord, John Waters's Cry Baby and Michael Mann's TV series Crime Story. Most recently, Kooper released a critically acclaimed solo album, Black Coffee, and his memoir, Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards, will be republished in spring 2008.

TEC TICKETS ON SALE

Tickets for the 23rd Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards are now on sale. Letterman bassist Will Lee will host the show for the third consecutive year, backed by the all-star 2Cold Chili Bone TEC Band. TEC Awards will be presented in 25 categories, including the newly introduced Sound Production for Interactive Entertainment; and renowned broadcast mixer Ed Greene will be inducted into the TEC Hall of Fame, sponsored by Dolby Laboratories.

Tickets are available online at www.mixfoundation.org or by calling 510/985-3214. Proceeds of TEC Awards benefit programs for hearing awareness and audio education, including the annual TEC Awards Scholarship.

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