Shabaka Hutchings, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Robert Cray, Thundercat, Esperanza Spalding, Evan Parker, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Nubya Garcia and Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ amongst nominated acts for the fifth annual Jazz FM Awards
Grammy-winning vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant to perform at this year’s ceremony, which takes place on International Jazz Day on April 30th at Shoreditch Town Hall
Watch highlights from the 2017 Jazz FM Awards ceremony here
Bassist extraordinaire Thundercat, formidable vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, genre-bending bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding, and pioneering trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah are all up for awards alongside the cream of the thriving UK scene including Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, Jacob Collier and Yazz Ahmed, as announced at yesterday’s nominations event held in London at ‘Melomania at Cambridge Audio’.
Recognizing the best emerging new artists, contemporary jazz icons and established stars from across the worlds of jazz, soul and blues, the Jazz FM Awards are now in their fifth outing and will celebrate what has been a remarkable year for jazz which has seen the genre continue to enjoy widespread critical acclaim and a huge resurgence in popularity. The ceremony will take place at Shoreditch Town Hall on International Jazz Day on 30th April.
As well as the awards presentation, which will be hosted by Jazz FM presenters Chris Philips and Jez Nelson, the night will feature several performances from a range of acclaimed artists led by rising star pianist and MD of this year’s Jazz FM Awards House Band, Ashley Henry. Cecile McLorin Salvant, who was recently honoured at the Grammys, is the first artist confirmed to perform at the event and will showcase material from her 2017 release Dreams and Daggers. The US powerhouse vocalist has been nominated for two awards this year under the categories of International Jazz Act of the Year and Album of the Year, with the latter decided by public vote.
The recipients of the special award categories - PPL Lifetime Achievement Award, PRS For Music Gold Award and Impact Award - will be announced ahead of the ceremony. In previous years, these special award-winners have included Oscar-winning film director Damien Chazelle, Georgie Fame, Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter and the late Hugh Masekela.
Public voting is open now at www.jazzfmawards.com and will close on Monday 2nd April.
The Jazz FM Awards 2018 is a partnership between Jazz FM and Serious and is made possible with the support of Mishcon De Reya, PPL, PRS For Music, Rathbones, Oris Watches, Grange Hotels, Lateralize, Arqiva, Yamaha, RCS, Shoreditch Town Hall, Cambridge Audio, Denbies Wine Estate, Warsteiner, Sharpstream and British Airways.
Full list of 2018 Nominees:
Breakthrough Act of the Year
Ezra Collective
Nubya Garcia
Rob Luft
Soul Artist of the Year
Sponsored by RCS
Jordan Rakei
Leroy Hutson
Moonchild
Digital Initiative of the Year
Esperanza Spalding: Exposure
Jacob Collier: I Harm U
Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club: Live Streaming
Instrumentalist of the Year
Sponsored by Grange Hotels
Evan Parker
Theon Cross
Yazz Ahmed
Blues Artist of the Year
Lucky Peterson
Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’
Robert Cray
Jazz Innovation of the Year
Sponsored by Mishcon De Reya
Carleen Anderson: Cage Street Memorial
Joe Armon-Jones and Maxwell Owin: Idiom
Shabaka Hutchings
Vocalist of the Year
Sponsored by Lateralise
Alice Zawadzki
Liane Carroll
Zara McFarlane
International Jazz Artist of the Year
Sponsored by Oris Watches
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah
Thundercat
UK Jazz Act of the Year (Public Vote)
Sponsored by Cambridge Audio
Dinosaur
Ezra Collective
Kansas Smitty’s House Band
Album of the Year (Public Vote)
Sponsored by Arqiva
Blue Note All-Stars – Our Point of View
Cécile McLorin Salvant – Dreams and Daggers
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – Diaspora
Denys Baptiste – The Late Trane
Phronesis – The Behemoth
Thundercat – Drunk
Live Experience of the Year (Public Vote)
Sponsored by Rathbones
A Concert for Alice and John - Pharoah Sanders Quartet, Denys Baptiste and Alina Bzhezhinska – EFG London Jazz Festival at The Barbican
An evening with Dave Holland – Ambleside Days Festival at Zephirellis Cinema
Jazz Re:Fest at Southbank Centre
Makaya McCraven featuring Theon Cross Trio and Jaimie Branch Fly or Die Ensemble - CHICAGOXLONDON Day 1 at Total Refreshment Centre
Randolph Matthews – Jazz in the Round at Love Supreme Festival
Ronnie Scott’s presents Ezra Collective – EFG London Jazz Festival at Islington Assembly Hall
PPL Lifetime Achievement Award
TBA
Impact Award
TBA
PRS For Music Gold Award
TBA
For more information, please contact Joe Baxter or Natasha Thomas
joe@baxterpr.com / Natasha@baxterpr.com / +44 (0)207 636 9562
Notes to Editors:
About Jazz FM
- Jazz FM is the largest commercial jazz station in the world, celebrating the complete spectrum of jazz in all its colourful forms since 1990
- Jazz FM broadcasters, producers and team are true devotees, with a deep love and understanding of their particular jazz shade, their passion is vivid, their enthusiasm infectious, sharing the finest jazz with everyone
- Jazz FM co-founded Love Supreme, the widely acclaimed greenfield 3-day jazz festival and was the first commercial radio station to collaborate with the BBC in creating BBC Music Jazz – a national pop-up digital radio station
- As the UK’s only dedicated jazz broadcaster, Jazz FM is on a mission to entertain, promote and celebrate all that’s great about jazz. Involvement with national festivals and awards is part of this - setting the bar high for live performance, recognizing outstanding talent and strengthening the jazz community
- Jazz FM is available across the UK on DAB, DTV, online, smart phone, tablet and via Amazon Alexa
- No matter how people tune-in they always listen in colour.
About Serious
- Serious is a producer of live jazz and international and contemporary music. Working with artists and partners from the UK and internationally, Serious creates and produces a diverse range of concerts, tours, festivals and live events. Serious creates and produces the EFG London Jazz Festival
- In addition, Serious is Associate Producer at London’s Barbican, co-programmer for Sage Gateshead’s annual International Jazz Festival and are programme consultants for Love Supreme Jazz Festival. Committed to the future of the music industry, Serious provides professional development opportunities for young and emerging artists and delivers an extensive learning and participation programme.