News

The nominations for the 2016 Jazz FM Awards have been announced. The most prestigious ceremony in the jazz, soul and blues calendar is this year taking place on Tuesday 26th April at London’s Bloomsbury Ballroom and will feature a performance by Gregory Porter, who will also receive the Jazz Impact Award.

Once again the public will be able to vote for the winner of three categories Album of the year, UK Jazz Act of the Year and Live Experience of the Year. Voting will be open from 24th February to the 31st March via the Awards website. This year also sees the addition of a new award, the Digital Initiative Award, that has been created to recognise a musician who has harnessed the power of technology to engage with audiences.

This year’s nominees include Kamasi Washington who is up for two awards Album of the year and International Jazz Artist of the Year following the success of his 2015 album ‘The Epic’. US trumpeter Christian Scott has also received two nominations for Album Of The Year and Jazz Innovation of the Year after his genre bending work on the album ‘STRETCH Music’. Rounding off the trio of double nominees is prodigious newcomer Jacob Collier who is nominated for Breakthrough Act of the Year and the new Digital Initiative Award after independently gaining over 10 million views on Youtube.

Other categories include Soul Artist of the Year whose nominees include US vocalist Jill Scott, Leon Bridges fresh from the release of his debut album ‘Coming Home’ and Lizz Wright. Blues Artist of the Year will see Alabama Shakes, Buddy Guy and guitarist Gary Clark Junior battle it out. Home-grown talent is once again
celebrated in the UK Jazz Act of the Year category which sees nominations for Manchester based DJ, bandleader and trumpeter Matthew Halsall, London duo Binker & Moses and 4-piece jazz group Sons of Kemet.

“We are delighted to announce this year’s Jazz FM Awards nominees celebrating the extraordinary work from established international Grammy-winning superstars to up and coming homegrown talent, this is sure to be our biggest and best year yet”
Jonathan Arendt, CEO, Jazz FM

The Jazz FM Awards 2016 is a partnership between Jazz FM and Serious and is made possible with the support of Grange Hotels, Mishcon de Reya, PPL, Yamaha, Arqiva, 7digital, and Denbies Wine Estate.

Full list of 2016 Nominees:

Breakthrough Act of the Year

• Binker & Moses
• Jacob Collier
• Nerija

International Jazz Artist of the Year
(Sponsored by Yamaha)

• Kamasi Washington
• Marcus Miller
• Maria Schneider

Blues Artist of the Year

• Alabama Shakes
• Buddy Guy
• Gary Clark Jnr

Soul Artist of the Year

• Jill Scott
• Leon Bridges
• Lizz Wright

Instrumentalist of the Year
(Sponsored by Arqiva)

• Mark Lockheart
• Theon Cross
• Zoe Rahman

Vocalist of the Year

• Eska
• Lauren Kinsella
• Liane Carroll

Jazz Innovation of the Year
(Sponsored by Mishcon de Reya)

• Black Top
• Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah
• David Virelles

Digital Initiative of the Year
(Sponsored by 7digital)

• Chassol
• Jacob Collier
• Tin Men and the Telephone

Album of the Year (Public Vote)

• Christian Scott ‘Stretch Music’
• Hiatus Kaiyote ‘Choose Your Weapon’
• Kamasi Washington ‘The Epic’
• Maria Schneider ‘The Thompson Fields’
• Charenee Wade ‘Offering’
• Snarky Puppy ‘Sylva’

UK Jazz Act of the Year (Public Vote)
(Sponsored by Grange Hotels)

• Binker & Moses
• Matthew Halsall
• Sons of Kemet

Live Experience of the Year (Public Vote)

• Ice-T and Ron McCurdy – The Langston Hughes Project at the Barbican
• Maria Schneider at Symphony Hall Birmingham
• Taylor McFerrin at Rio Club, Glasgow Jazz Festival