Jazz FM Awards 2020 - Have Your Say...

The Jazz FM Awards 2020 with OANDA, which were postponed earlier this year due to coronavirus restrictions, took place at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho on 27th October - and the nominees have now become winners!

The all-important public vote for the Jazz FM Awards 2020 allowed jazz fans up and down the country to have their say on three awards: The PRS for Music UK Jazz Act of the Year, Album of the Year and Venue of the Year.

The public vote closed on the 15th of April at 23:59, but you can read up on the nominees and winners you voted for below...

THE PRS FOR MUSIC UK JAZZ ACT OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Yazz Ahmed

Yazz Ahmed is a British-Bahraini trumpet player and composer. Through her music, she seeks to blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as ‘psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and compelling’.

Her career is studded with high profile collaborations, which have seen her record and perform with the likes of Radiohead, Lee Scratch Perry, Transglobal Underground, Susheela Raman, Tarek Yamani, Amel Zen, including a world tour with These New Puritans.

As a guest soloist and composer, Yazz has performed with Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra, NYJO, NYOS, and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Jazz Orchestra.

Joe Armon-Jones

Joe Armon-Jones, keyboardist, composer and producer, is building on a rush of acclaim, a packed-out Electric Brixton show and an 18-date tour around the UK and Europe. Armon-Jones is pushing the boundaries of his sound, blurring the lines between bass-heavy dub, contemporary club culture and his background as a pioneering force in the modern jazz scene.

Armon-Jones’ 2019 album, Turn To Clear View, was named as TIME Magazine’s Top 10 Albums of 2019. Away from his solo project, he’s a member of Ezra Collective, regularly plays with Nubya Garcia, and has toured with the likes of Ata Kak and Pharaohe Monch.

SEED Ensemble

Formed in early 2016, SEED Ensemble is a Mercury Award-nominated ten-piece band led by alto saxophonist and composer Cassie Kinoshi. Combining jazz with inner-city London, West African and Caribbean influenced groove, SEED Ensemble explores a blend of genres through original compositions and improvisation.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Yazz Ahmed - Polyhymnia

Yazz Ahmed’s long-anticipated third album, Polyhymnia, is a grand work conceived as a message to the world about the history and growing empowerment of women. The album is a series of powerful tributes to noted women in history, whose stories resonated and inspired Yazz: Rosa Parks; Malala Yousafzai; Ruby Bridges; Haaifa Al-Mansour; Barbara Thompson; and The Suffragettes.

Rich in musical imagery, Polyhymnia explores the history of these women and their struggles and triumphs, evoking the universal human concepts of forgiveness, oppression, hopefulness, and power to overcome.

Ashley Henry - Beautiful Vinyl Hunter

Ashley Henry is one of a new generation of musicians that have been raised with a wide range of influences. Born and raised in South London, Ashley Henry music and debut album has seen him nominated in 6 Music Album of the year, only the second jazz album to do so. His debut album Beautiful Vinyl Hunter has pickup awards ranging from Jazz Japan's New Jazz Artist Album of the Year and is France's New Jazz Artist of the Year.

Touring with Christine & The Queen's across 2018/19 and supporting Loyle Carner 2019 tour, Ashley graduated from Royal Academy of Music in 2016 cutting his teeth performing with Jason Marsalis and legends like Terence Blanchard and Jean Toussaint the latter featuring on Ashley debut Sony EP Easter. At the age of just 25, Ashley was commissioned as guest resident Musical Director for both Jazz Café and Ronnie Scott's and won the Jazz FM Live Experience Award.

SEED Ensemble - Driftglass

SEED Ensemble have been nominated for both The PRS For Music UK Jazz Act of the Year as well as Album of the Year. Their debut release Driftglass (Jazz Re:freshed, 2019) features the track Afronaut (feat. XANA) which won the Ivors Academy Award 2018 (formerly known as BASCA, British Composer Award) for Jazz Composition for Large Ensemble.

Jazzmeia Horn - Love and Liberation

In the two years since Jazzmeia Horn bowed with her first album, the GRAMMY Award-Nominated A Social Call, she’s been very busy performing on international tours and honing her vocal skills to a finely tuned level while writing songs of personal relevance and social message.

The convergence of this drive and development has resulted in her 2019 record —The Grammy Nominated and NAACP Image Award-Winning Love and Liberation—filled with songs of daring musicality, emotional power, and messages of immediate relevance.

Binker Golding - Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers

Born and raised in North London, saxophonist Binker Golding has recorded and performed regularly with the city’s finest; Zara McFarlane, Moses Boyd’s Exodus, Sarah Tandy, and Maisha amongst others. He has learned from and played alongside many great saxophonists including Steve Williamson, Jason Yarde, Denis Baptiste and Gilad Atzmon.

The saxophonist’s most recent album Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers is a departure from his previous work, featuring a new quartet and with a greater emphasis on harmonic and melodic development. It was recorded at Abbey Road, mixed by the legendary James Farber (Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Brad Mehldau), and released via Gearbox Records in September 2019.

The musicians on it form a distinctive ensemble: Joe Armon-Jones on piano, Daniel Casimir on double bass, and Sam Jones on drums. Together, through Binker’s original compositions and arrangements, the band map a path between the more through-composed jazz fusion of previous decades and the hip hop/broken beat-influenced sound of the contemporary London jazz scene.

Branford Marsalis Quartet - The Secret Between The Shadow And The Soul

After four decades in the international spotlight, the achievements of saxophonist Branford Marsalis continue to grow. From his initial recognition as a young jazz lion, he has expanded his vision as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining unwavering creative integrity. In the process, he has become an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.

The Branford Marsalis Quartet, first formed in 1986, remains Branford’s primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range and a continuity of personnel.

The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, recorded in Melbourne, Australia in the midst of an international tour in the Spring of 2018, contains the mix of challenging original and classic compositions, and the range of moods from the tender to the explosive, that has defined the group. With its focus on melodic strength and extrasensory interaction, the album confirms that the Branford Marsalis Quartet remains a paragon of uncompromising jazz excellence.

VENUE OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Vortex, Dalston

The Vortex Jazz Club is one of the UK’s premier jazz venues, programming almost 400 performances a year in an intimate space. As a volunteer-led jazz club in North London, Dalston, they have been given the accolade of being one of the world’s best, and have even been singled out by the prestigious Downbeat magazine as one the top 150 jazz venues in the world.

For 25 years, the club has been serving as a platform for jazz, improvised and experimental music. The Vortex has been instrumental in the launch of up and coming artists’ careers, such as Mercury-nominated bands including Polar Bear and Portico Quartet. Saxophonist Evan Parker has a long-standing relationship with the club, including a monthly residency; he once described the club as his spiritual home.

Church of Sound

Church of Sound is a regular gig in St James the Great Church, Lower Clapton Rd. A central speaker tower stands tall in the centre of the room, surrounded by musicians, audience and crew. Emphasis is placed firmly on the music: carefully selected, joyfully performed and cleanly recorded. Over 24 hours, St James is transformed from a traditional worship space into a venue & then back again, leaving a minimal trace.

Their team is made up of musicians, music lovers, friends and family - they do their best to share this feeling of companionship with all those who walk through their big blue doors.

Ronnie Scott’s

In 1959, saxophonist Ronnie Scott opened the door to a small basement club in London’s west end where local musicians could jam. Today, in its new home in buzzing Soho, Ronnie Scott’s is one of the world’s most famous jazz clubs attracting full to bursting audiences practically every night.

Since the early days of Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie and Miles Davis, the club continues to present the biggest names in jazz including Wynton Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson and Kurt Elling, all of whom shun the concert halls in favour of the intimate and welcoming environs of the club. Ronnie Scott’s is also a club firmly on the cutting edge; the first place to catch hotly-tipped rising stars, visionary artists and the next big thing.

With its introduction of the Late Late Show, a relaxed ‘50’s speakeasy vibe with doors open till the wee hours, the Wednesday Jazz Jam (a late-night instrumental jazz jam session), plus Ronnie’s Bar (upstairs at the club), Ronnie Scott’s has become the hang for London’s young hipsters and the place for music fans of all ages seeking jazz royalty in the worlds most stylish famous jazz club.

Love Supreme

Since launching in 2013, Love Supreme has grown to become Europe's biggest outdoor jazz festival now attracting over 50,000 people across the weekend. The festival is renowned for its musically diverse bill and has seen legendary artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Ms. Lauryn Hill and George Benson share the weekend with jazz heavyweights such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea & Pharoah Sanders.

Alongside these established artists, Love Supreme has, since its inception, offering a platform for emerging talent. The inaugural festival saw early performances from now bonafide headliners Gregory Porter and Snarky Puppy and over the years the festival has given UK leading lights Ezra Collective, Celeste, Gogo Penguin and Nubya Garcia the opportunity to perform in front of thousands for the first time.

The Verdict

The Verdict is Brighton’s only dedicated jazz club and is rated one of the top ten in Europe.

The club are proud to work with a plethora of musical and artistic talent from the south coast and beyond, and are enthusiastic about welcoming and showcasing emerging talent, facilitating collaborative enterprises and supporting Brighton's local jazz scene.

Band on the Wall

Band on the Wall has been a cornerstone of Manchester’s thriving music and cultural landscape for two centuries. Their mission is to promote equality and diversity through music and to bring leading artists from around the world to the stage – both at their award-winning Manchester venue and nationally, through touring programmes and trailblazing creative music projects.

Their unusual name harks back to the building’s days as The George and Dragon pub in the early 20th Century. Regulars would affectionately refer to the ‘Band on the Wall’ as the place where house musicians quite literally played on a stage halfway up the back wall to make room in the busy pub.

Scroll through to see the full list of Jazz FM Awards 2020 winners:

Hear all these artists and more on the Jazz FM playlist.

Listen to Jazz FM on DAB nationwide, on our free app, online or via your smart speaker (“Play Jazz FM”).

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