Toyota And Super Producer Bryan Michael-Cox Honor Music Veterans And Emerging, Young Artists

Toyota To Donate $10,000 to Music & Memory for its Work with Patients with Cognitive and Physical Challenges

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Feb 09, 2017, 13:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On a day where the music industry's biggest and brightest shine, Toyota and multiple award-winning producer, Bryan-Michael Cox, are joining forces for the second year in a row to honor those making moves behind the scenes.

Past honoree, DJ Khaled, and acclaimed producer, Bryan-Michael Cox, at the 2016 Breakfast Club brunch. Created by Cox over a decade ago, the brunch honors songwriters, producers, and other behind-the-scenes music heavyweights for their contribution to the industry. The 2017 event will be powered by Toyota under the brand's Music platform, which was created to connect audiences with emerging artists in the celebration of music.

Powered by Toyota, the annual Breakfast Club brunch will mix party and purpose, as one of the world's top brands and Cox reunite to honor music groundbreakers and support the work of Music & Memory, a non-profit committed to helping people overcome cognitive and physical challenges through music. Continuing the Breakfast Club's tradition of recognizing the work of Music & Memory, Toyota will present a grant for $10,000 to the organization during the event.

"At Toyota, we feel the gift to Music & Memory is a special way to ensure the celebration of music has a lasting and positive impact on the health and lives of these patients," says Toyota national marketing manager, Mia Phillips.

Cox, an award-winning producer, known for his extensive work with multiple platinum-selling R&B and pop artists, has hosted the annual brunch for over a decade, celebrating the work of top producers and songwriters in the industry. He has served as a long-time ambassador for the organization, working to connect his peers to the mission of Music & Memory, and personally committing his time to speaking around the country on behalf of the organization.

In years past, the Breakfast Club brunch has honored major industry influencers, such as Sean "Diddy" Combs, Swizz Beatz, Jon Platt, Chris Hicks, and DJ Khaled. This year, architect of the neo-soul sound, R&B singer Maxwell, and revered industry songwriter, Siedah Garrett (co-writer of Michael Jackson's hit song, "Man in the Mirror"), will join the celebrated roster of music all-stars as the 2017 honorees. Also, Guordon Banks, a young, emerging singer and songwriter, who recently released the #1 chart-topping song, "Keep You In Mind" will receive special acknowledgement during the event.

Toyota Music, a platform the brand cultivated to connect audiences with emerging artists, will be infused into the brunch, which will host more than 200 guests. Industry newcomers invited to the event will have the opportunity to network with industry veterans in a high-energy atmosphere.

Toyota and music fans alike can tune-in and watch honoree and guest arrivals during the Toyota Showcase Facebook Live event, hosted by radio and TV personality, Sway Calloway, on Sunday, February 12 starting at 2:30 p.m. ET/ 11:30 a.m. PT.

About Toyota Motor North America

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to advancing mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we've produced more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.6 million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016 – and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with community, civic, academic, and governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing mobility challenges. We share company resources and extensive know-how to support non-profits to help expand their ability to assist more people move more places. For more information about Toyota, visit http://www.toyotanewsroom.com/.

Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA), headquartered in Plano, Texas, brings together Toyota's marketing, sales, and manufacturing arms in North America. It is wholly owned by Toyota Motor Corporation.

About Music & Memory at NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals' Music & Memory Program has quickly been established as a best practice of behavior management for patients with dementia or other cognitive disabilities. The Fund for NYC Health + Hospitals oversees, supports (financially and programmatically), and promotes NYC Health + Hospitals' Music & Memory Program. Here is an overview of the program's history at NYC Health + Hospitals.

Music & Memory is a program that brings personalized, digitized music selections to patients or residents with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other cognitive loss. Started by social worker Dan Cohen in a nursing home in New York in 2006, the program has since been expanded to hundreds of facilities throughout the United States and Canada. By providing patients with iPods filled with their favorite songs and/or familiar music, Music & Memory demonstrates the powerful ability of music to engage, lift the affect, and support memory retrieval, even in severely debilitated Alzheimer's patients. Patients who previously were remote, disengaged and completely unresponsive remarkably become animated, tap, sway and sing to favorite rhythms, can answer questions, and hold conversations. Music & Memory reduces patients' reliance on medication which can, in turn, impact safety, quality, and satisfaction measures.

SOURCE Toyota