BBC Jazz Awards

[Lois Gilbert]

The nominees have been announced for the third annual BBC Jazz Awards. This star-studded event staged by BBC Radios 2 and 3 takes place on Tuesday July 29th at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

James Moir, Controller BBC Radio 2 says: "The renaissance of jazz continues apace. Jazz record sales have increased by 30% since last year’s Awards ceremony. This without including 'pop' artists like the multi-platinum Norah Jones and Cinematic Orchestra. The average age of audiences at UK jazz venues has fallen by a decade and not since the days when Chris Barber records topped the charts has there been as much public interest in the genre. The awards have quickly become an established date in the UK jazz calendar and the 2002 show was heard by over a million listeners on Radio’s 2 and 3, as well as by those fortunate enough to be in the hall itself. The BBC's jazz coverage goes from strength to strength and hence Jazz Awards 2003 celebrates where jazz is from and where it's going to."



The opinions of over one hundred members of the UK jazz industry have been polled and the three most popular nominees in each category are listed below (winners will not be announced until the awards ceremony itself). In no particular order the nominees are:

Best Album*
Gilad Atzmon - Exile
Guy Barker - Soundtrack
Chris Bowden - Slightly Askew
* For methods of public voting see below.

Best Band
Gilad Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble
Guy Barker’s International
Tim Garland and the Dean Street Underground Orchestra

Best Vocalist
Stacey Kent
Claire Martin
Clare Teal

Best Instrumentalist
Guy Barker
Brian Kellock
Peter King

Rising Star
Jamie Cullum
Seb Rochford
Clare Teal

Services To Jazz
To be announced on the awards ceremony


A panel of experts assembled by BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3 have, after much debate, chosen nominees in the following categories:

Best New Work
Brian Irvine - Interrupting Cutler

Robert Mitchell - Equinox

Chris Bowden - Slightly Askew

Jazz Innovation
Byron Wallen - particularly for Sacred Circles with Cleveland Watkiss plus Indigo and music for Langston Hughes.

Oren Marshall - particularly for his solo work: The story of Speedy Sponda Part One - In A Quiet Room

Iain Ballamy - particularly Food Veggie & Jazz on 3 session.

Jazz Heritage
To be announced at the awards ceremony

Lifetime Achievement
To be announced at the awards ceremony

International Artist of the Year
To be announced on June 1st

Contact details and short biographies for all the nominees can be found in the Notes to Editors.

In a new move for 2003, the Best Album award will be chosen by the public. As of today, votes can be placed for the Best Album category in the following three ways:

By internet: www.bbc.co.uk/radio2 and www.bbc.co.uk/radio3
By phone: 08700 100 200 and 08700 100 300
By post: BBC Jazz Awards Room 436 Pebble Mill Road Birmingham B5 7QQ

The evening will feature live performances from the biggest names in jazz. Those performing will be chosen from the various nominees highlighting those artists who have shone brightest over the last 12 months as well as one or two very special guests.

The BBC Radio Jazz Awards take place at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on Tuesday, July 29th and will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Monday, 4th August at 7.00-8.30pm and on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Line-Up on Saturday, 2nd August at 4.00pm.

There will be more information on the awards and a chance to listen to the acts on BBC Radio 2 Online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2 and BBC Radio 3 Online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Ticket availability will be announced shortly.

Further information: Marc Connor at Air, (020) 8287 4064
Hester Nevill, BBC Radio 2 Publicity (020) 7765 5712
or Sian Davis, BBC Radio 3 Publicity (020) 7765 5887

[Lois Gilbert]

Personally, I haven't heard any of these folks....

[hornplayer]

Wonder if they acknowledge (folks like) Dave Holland as a Brit.

[Pete C]

Stacy Kent & Claire Martin are both excellent singers. I'm looking forward to seeing Kent at the North Sea Festival. All the other names are Greek to me.

[Pete C]

Here's a review of the Atzmon album:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/world/rev...on_exile.shtml

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

I have the first record by the Atzmon band, not the new one. Not very exciting, but apparently the addition of the singer in the album nominated made a big difference.

Orren Marshall is a tuba player - haven't heard much of him but at least they made an attempt.

The rest of the entries are painting by numbers choices. Would have preferred the BBC would cut the awards ceremony and not the funding to the Freedom of the City Festival (and I assume other funding commitments to actual live music).

[mjb]

Originally posted by Nathaniel Catchpole
The rest of the entries are painting by numbers choices.

Nathaniel,

I assume that to be a negative take on the choices. Is that your opinion of Guy Barker and Chris Bowden? I have both of their CDs and really enjoy them, particulalry "Slightly Askew."

[Uli]

"Jazz Innovation
Byron Wallen - particularly for Sacred Circles with Cleveland Watkiss plus Indigo and music for Langston Hughes."

Indigo and music for Langston Hughes can be presently heard on the bbc3 site. I kinda enjoy it.

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

Don't know either of their playing well, and Bowden's not at all. What Barker I've heard I found to be a bit too clean - I admit that was quite a while ago, he may have changed. Certainly he comes closest to a poster child in what there is of the UK jazz scene. It's a bit like seeing Wynton or Dave Douglas - whatever you think of him them couldn't be a more lazy/obvious choice of musician. Could equally likely have been Gerard Presencer of US3 fame.

Haven't seen any gigs listed for Pete King for a long time (although I don't check the listings a lot of clubs, so I could just not be seeing him). Since he's running Ronnie Scott's now, I'd imagine he's too busy with that to be playing very much.

Obviously I have an obvious bias being involved in the free improv scene from which none of these selections come (apart form Marshall who is involved a bit). Since Jazz on 3 covers a lot of people from this scene though (esp. Tippett, Dunmall, Picard, Fell, many others), it's a little surprising not seeing any of those faces. And, again, would prefer they used the money to meet their funding commitments which they appear to be reneging on.

[Valerie]

Originally posted by hornplayer
Wonder if they acknowledge (folks like) Dave Holland as a Brit.

That was my first thought, hornplayer! Probably not, though, as he's been an "American" forever now!

[Jimmy J]

Chris Bowden is a monster player, he can really let off when he wants to. I've seen him live a few times and he is one of the most dynamic sax players I've heard. He can get a real Pharoah Sanders thing going. It's not Ben Webster at all, which some people will not like, but yeah, it's a valid choice.

And he seemed like a very humble guy from all accounts.