Four Grammy Awards and nominations for several others have folks in the music industry taking notice of what's happening on the North Side of Pittsburgh.

	Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Marty Ashby, executive producer of the MCG. Click photo for larger image.

The Manchester Craftsmen's Guild was recently awarded a Grammy, indirectly, for its recording of Nancy Wilson's "Turn to Blue."

"You win one, and you're lucky," said Marty Ashby, executive producer of the MCG.

"You win two, and folks think, OK. But if you start winning three and four, people start to take you more seriously. They really can't deny the integrity of what we are trying to do with this music. We are trying to create great records that will have great shelf life."

Few people can deny that the Guild has created a magical relationship with Wilson, who just seems to get better with age.

"Nancy is so in line with the overall philosophy of this place," continued Ashby. "We've kind of connected on a musical, philosophical and spiritual level. She loves the MCG because it's all about the music. This music can change people's lives. That's the way Nancy feels, and that's the way we feel."

Wilson's knack for winning Grammys already has Ashby examining material for Wilson's next recording.

"There's always something in the works with Nancy," he said. "Nancy's records are two years apart because they take two years to make. Her records are long projects because it's a labor of love. Each track is its own epic. It's important to have the exact collection of musicians to give Mrs. Wilson the palette to tell the story of each song she sings. Nancy tells a story. She's a great singer, but when she sings she is telling you a story about life."

Because of the recording success the Guild has garnered over the past few years, Ashby said musicians outside of the jazz idiom have inquired about recording at the Guild.

"I get calls all the time from folks wanting to record here," he said. "But at this moment, we are focused on our core mission."

That mission is producing great jazz records.

"Our core competency is producing records for artists like Nancy Wilson and the New York Voices. There's still too much work to be done in jazz. We have things in the archives that are classic jazz recordings that over time we will release in a meaningful way."