Nominations announced for Jazz FM Awards 2017

The nominations for the 2017 Jazz FM Awards have been announced and, notably, the ceremony will take place on 25th April, the 100th anniversary of Ella Fitzgerald’s birth – a celebration of her music will be included on the night. Ella holds a very special place in Jazz FM’s heart and history having launched the station in 1990 with two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and was one of the first voices to be heard on air.

Coinciding with a particularly significant year for jazz, which sees noteworthy anniversaries occurring across the year including 100 years since the very first jazz recording as well as centenaries for Ella, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie, this year’s gala will present thirteen awards to a range of stand-out artists responsible for carving the way forward in the worlds of jazz, blues and soul.

Organisers have confirmed that pioneering R&B and jazz vocalist Georgie Fame will receive the PPL Lifetime Achievement Award, and will perform a one-off, exclusive show with a quartet led by Guy Barker. La La Land and Whiplash director Damien Chazelle (who on Sunday won the Best Director award at the 2017 Oscars) will receive the Impact Award for the notable impact his work is having on bringing jazz to wider audiences.

Public voting is open now for three of the categories and will close on 31 March 2017, via the brand new Jazz FM Awards website.

The Jazz FM Awards 2017 is a partnership between Jazz FM and Serious and is made possible with the support of Mishcon De Reya, PRS For Music, Rathbones, Pollitt & Partners, Oris Watches, Grange Hotels, RCS, Denbies Wine Estate, Arqiva, Fever Tree, Yamaha, The Piano Bar Soho and PPL. 

Here’s the full list of 2017 Nominees:

BREAKTHROUGH ACT OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Yamaha                      

• Ashley Henry                                       
• Nubya Garcia      
• Yussef Kamaal    

INTERNATIONAL JAZZ ARTIST OF THE YEAR                                             
Sponsored by Oris Watches

• Brad Mehldau    
• Donny McCaslin                                                                 
• Robert Glasper                                   

VOCALIST OF THE YEAR                   
Sponsored by PRS for Music

• Carleen Anderson
• Norma Winstone                               
• Polly Gibbons                                                                                      

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR                
Sponsored by Rathbones

• Nikki Yeoh                                            
• Gwilym Simcock                                 
• Tim Garland                                        

BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR                          
Sponsored by The Piano Bar Soho

• Bonnie Raitt                                        
• Eric Bibb               
• The Rolling Stones                                             

SOUL ARTIST OF THE YEAR                      
Sponsored by RCS

• Jordan Rakei       
• Laura Mvula                                        
• William Bell                                         

JAZZ INNOVATION OF THE YEAR  
Sponsored by Mishcon de Reya

• Darcy James Argue           
• Jaimeo Brown                                                     
• Moon Hooch                                       

DIGITAL INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR   
Sponsored by Pollitt & Partners             

• Dave Douglas - Greenleaf Music                   
• Gilles Peterson - Worldwide FM                                     
• Jaimeo Brown - Transcendence: Work Songs                                             

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (PUBLIC VOTE THROUGH MARCH)                                  
Sponsored by Arqiva

• Anderson .Paak - Malibu                                                   
• Donny McCaslin - Beyond Now
• Gregory Porter - Take Me To The Alley                                       
• Kurt Elling - The Beautiful Day                                       
• Madeleine Peyroux - Secular Hymns            
• The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome         

UK JAZZ ACT OF THE YEAR (PUBLIC VOTE THROUGH MARCH)                             
Sponsored by Grange Hotels

• Dinosaur
• Shabaka Hutchings                                                                                            
• Soweto Kinch                                      

LIVE EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR (PUBLIC VOTE THROUGH MARCH)              

• Ashley Henry Trio at Jazz Re:Fest, Royal Festival Hall                                                 
• Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles at Glee Club Birmingham
• Julian Arguelles with Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Django Bates & Steve Argüelles at Cheltenham Jazz Festival                                      
• Orphy Robinson All Stars – The Bobby Hutcherson Songbook at St James The Great, London                           
• Roberto Fonseca Trio at Gateshead International Jazz Festival, Sage Gateshead          
• Wayne Shorter Quartet at EFG London Jazz Festival, Barbican  

PPL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

• Recipient: Georgie Fame

IMPACT AWARD

• Recipient: Damien Chazelle