Last year, after an absence of four years, Glasgow Jazz Festival revived the awards ceremony that celebrates Scotland’s vibrant jazz scene. In 2017 the festival incorporated the awards into their festival programme but thanks to the success of the event and the support it received from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland and the Scottish Jazz Community they have decided to host it as a stand-alone awards ceremony for 2018.
A panel of industry specialists, including press and promoters have selected the below shortlists for five awards, with the public able to choose the winners by voting for their favourites here.
Jill Rodger, Director of Glasgow Jazz Festival who are hosting this year’s Scottish Jazz Awards, said: “Hosting the Scottish Jazz Awards is a fantastic honour for us at the Glasgow Jazz Festival. The awards are a great opportunity to recognise and reward some of the brilliant musicians we have on the Scottish Jazz scene. We’re delighted to be working in association with Hands Up For Trad once again and we would like to say a huge thank you to the industry professionals who give up their time to be on our panel. We hope everyone gets voting and best of luck to all of the nominees!”
Clare Hewitt, Music Officer, Creative Scotland, said: “The Scottish Jazz Awards are a fantastic way for musicians and audiences to celebrate Scotland’s creative and inventive jazz scene. This list of nominations demonstrates an incredible breadth of talent, and is a great way for the public to explore what Scottish jazz has to offer.”
Nominations for the 6th Scottish Jazz Awards are as follows:
Rising Star Award in association with Help Musicians Scotland
- David Bowden
- Fergus McCreadie
- Joe Williamson
- Liam Shortall
- Luca Manning
- Pete Johnstone
Best Vocalist Award sponsored by Jazz from Scotland
- Ali Affleck
- Georgia Cecile
- Luca Manning
- Maggie Nicols
- Rachel Lightbody
- Seonaid Aitken
Best Instrumentalist Award sponsored by ESP Music Rentals
- Alyn Cosker
- Brian Kellock
- Colin Steele
- Fergus McCreadie
- Graham Costello
- Konrad Wiszniewski
Best Band/Ensemble Award sponsored by The Blue Arrow
- Fat-Suit
- Mezcla
- Rose Room
- Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
- Square One
- Graham Costello’s Strata
Best Album Award sponsored by Birnam CD
- Alan Benzie, Little Mysteries
- Alyn Cosker, KPF
- Colin Steele, Diving for Pearls
- Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, The Word for it Now
- Graham Costello’s Strata, Strata
- Tommy Smith, Embodying the Light
A Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by Ticketmaster will also be presented at the awards ceremony. Previous winners have included Carol Kidd, Bobby Wellins, Tam White, Ronnie Rae and Jim Mullen.
The awards will once again bring together the best in Scottish jazz to honour some of the most talented and revered musicians in the industry. Tickets can be purchased here.
Click here to vote in the sixth Scottish Jazz Awards. Voting closes at 17:00 on Thursday 24 May. Full details of the nominating panel can be found below.
Later this summer, from Wednesday 2 – Sunday 24 June, Glasgow Jazz Festival will transform the city with a wealth of home-grown and international jazz talent, taking over some of the most iconic venues in the city. Highlights of Glasgow Jazz Festival 2018 include the former front-man of Bombay Bicycle Club, Mr Jukes, who will bring his debut solo album to this year’s festival, a project full of material that revives his long-standing interest in jazz, soul and RnB. Music legend Georgie Fame will also return to the festival to showcase his much-loved blend of jazz and rhythm & blues with his Family Trio, as well as Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – one of Africa’s biggest and longest running orchestras. Glasgow Jazz Festival has also signed up to be part of the Keychange project – a pioneering European initiative that empowers women to transform the future of the music industry and encourages festivals to achieve a 50:50 balance by 2022.
Tickets and the full programme for Glasgow Jazz Festival is available at jazzfest.co.uk.
Source: Press release from Glasgow Jazz Festival, 10 May 2018
