Jazz FM Awards 2018 - winners announced.
Tuesday, May 01, 2018
The full list of winners at the 2018 Jazz FM Awards has been announced. The awards ceremony took place on 30th April 2018 at Shoreditch Town Hall, London.
We have received the following press release;
International Jazz Stars Descend on London For Jazz FM Awards 2018
*Dame Cleo Laine, George Benson, Esperanza Spalding, Thundercat, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Pat Metheny and more honoured at this year’s ceremony*
**International Jazz Day celebration sees all-female line-up of performances and big wins for UK’s emerging jazz stars**
This evening’s Jazz FM Awards, which took place at Shoreditch Town Hall in East London, featured a rollcall of music industry stars including Dame Cleo Laine, George Benson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Thundercat, Tito Jackson, Esperanza Spalding, Pat Metheny, Kamasi Washington, Omar, Stewart Lee and more, for the annual celebration of the very best of jazz, soul and blues.
Taking place on UNESCO’s International Jazz Day, and hosted by Jazz FM presenters Chris Philips and Jez Nelson, the event’s fifth outing featured performances from an all-female, cross-generational line-up of established acts and rising stars. Celebrated US vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant delivered a spellbinding performance following her International Jazz Artist of the Year win, while multi-Grammy award-winning US bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, who won Digital Initiative Of The Year, and 26-year old London-based saxophonist Nubya Garcia, who was named as the Breakthrough Act of the Year, electrified the audience with their exclusive performances, accompanied by British pianist and the evening’s Musical Director Ashley Henry. The matriarch of British vocal jazz, Dame Cleo Laine DBE brought the evening to a fitting finale as she collected the prestigious PPL Lifetime Achievement Award, which she followed with a surprise rendition of “I’ve Got A Crush On You”.
Legendary guitarist and singer-songwriter George Benson was presented with the Impact Award by founding Jackson 5 member Tito Jackson whilst million-selling jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was in town to collect the PRS for Music Gold Award in recognition of his exceptional contribution to jazz performance, composition and education. Musician and DJ Goldie, a self-proclaimed jazz enthusiast, was on hand to congratulate Metheny:
“I’m really happy you’re getting this award; you’ve been a massive inspiration to people around the world, and especially to me. Who would have thought… Goldie’s drum and bass music, all my arrangements, all my ideas were looking at your music over the years and listening… The whole world of you Pat has been amazing. God bless and keep going man!”
The popularity of the UK’s thriving young jazz scene, which continues to receive widespread international praise, was reflected this year with wins for explosive five-piece Ezra Collective, who collected two awards for UK Jazz Act of the Year and Live Experience of the Year, pioneering saxophonist and clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings, who picked up the Jazz Innovation of the Year honour for his multiple award-winning projects including the fiercely popular Sons of Kemet, who’s debut major label release Your Queen Is A Reptile was released on impulse! Records in March, while Zara McFarlane fought off stiff competition to reign supreme as Jazz FM’s Vocalist of the Year for the second time since receiving the honour in 2015.
International winners on the night included genre-defying bassist Thundercat, whose critically acclaimed Drunk was voted Album of the Year, Robert Cray for International Blues Artist Of The Year and Moonchild for International Soul Artist Of The Year.
The full list of winners is as follows:
Breakthrough Act of the Year
Sponsored by Yamaha
Nubya Garcia
International Soul Artist of the Year
Sponsored by RCS
Moonchild
UK Jazz Act of the Year (Public Vote)
Sponsored by Cambridge Audio
Ezra Collective
Digital Initiative of the Year
Sponsored by Oanda
Esperanza Spalding: Exposure
Instrumentalist of the Year
Sponsored by Grange Hotels
Evan Parker
International Blues Artist of the Year
Sponsored by British Airways
Robert Cray
Jazz Innovation of the Year
Sponsored by Mishcon de Reya
Shabaka Hutchings: Multiple projects
Vocalist of the Year
Sponsored by Lateralize
Zara McFarlane
International Jazz Artist of the Year
Sponsored by Oris Watches
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Album of the Year (Public Vote)
Sponsored by Arqiva
Thundercat – Drunk
Live Experience of the Year (Public Vote)
Sponsored by Rathbones
Ronnie Scott’s presents Ezra Collective – EFG London Jazz Festival at Islington Assembly Hall
PPL Lifetime Achievement Award
Recipient: Dame Cleo Laine
Impact Award
Sponsored by MediaCom
Recipient: George Benson
PRS for Music Gold Award
Recipient: Pat Metheny
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.