premiered in Prato, Italy, in February 2007. Accolades He has received Guggenheim (1992) and Rockefeller fellowships, Montreux Grande Prix Du Disque, and Down Beat International Critics Jazz Album of the Year. Beastie Boys lawsuit In 2000, Newton sued the alternative rock and hip hop group Beastie Boys (and their producer, record companies, publishers, and music video-related companies) for repeatedly using a six-second, three-note sample of "Choir", Newton's 1978 composition for flute and voice, in their song "Pass the Mic". According to the group, Newton declined a settlement offer and, in a counter-offer, demanded "millions" and 50 percent ownership and control of "Pass the Mic", despite the sample being only one of hundreds of sounds in the song. In the federal district court case, Newton claimed that the group infringed his copyright on the composition, by making use of the three-note sequence embodied in the sampled sound recording. The group argued that copyright law treats sound recordings and the underlying compositions as separate entities, with different thresholds for originality; a six-second audio clip must be licensed from the record company, but under the de minimis doctrine, a mere three notes of a composition need not be licensed from the composer or publisher. With summary judgment in 2002, the court agreed with Beastie Boys, holding that the group had fulfilled its legal obligation by licensing only the sound recording in 1992. At that time, Beastie Boys paid a fee of US$1,000 to ECM Records, the record label to which Newton had previously given contractual permission to license the sound recording. As is standard procedure in copyright cases, Beastie Boys then asked the court for Newton's lawyers to reimburse Beastie Boys' lawyers for $492,000 in legal fees, but the court declined to award costs. Newton appealed, but in 2003, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's decision in favor of Beastie Boys. Newton petitioned the court to re-hear the case en banc, but this resulted in a 2004 amended opinion in which the court strengthened its position. Discography As leader 1977: Solomon's Sons (Circle) 1977: Binu (Circle, with Mark Dresser, Tylon Barea, Rudolf Kreis) 1978: Paseo del Mar (India Navigation) 1979: Hidden Voices (India Navigation) with Anthony Davis 1979: The Mystery School (India Navigation) 1981: Axum (ECM) 1982: Portraits (India Navigation) 1983: Luella (Gramavision) 1984: Echo Canyon (Celestial Harmonies) 1985: The African Flower (Blue Note) 1987: