Category: British Jazz Awards

British Jazz Awards 2012: The Winners!

Thanks to everyone who came to the British Jazz Awards presentation at The Concorde Club last night. An enjoyable evening of music and speeches was had by all, with an excellent on stage jam with the winners to round it off. A full report will follow shortly but in the mean time, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for: the winners!

Trumpet

Trombone

Clarinet

Alto Saxophone

Tenor Saxophone

Piano

Guitar

Bass

Drums

Miscellaneous

Vocals

Rising Star

Big Band

Small Group

New Album

Reissued Album

Over the opening weekend of this years online poll we’ve already seen the votes pour in. Cast your vote now to decide who will walk away with a gong this year at tiny.cc/jazzawards.

Voting closes 8th October.

THE BRITISH JAZZ AWARDS: CONCORDE CLUB, SOUTHAMPTON

The ‘Jazz Oscars’ have been around for 26 years, the Concorde Club at Eastleigh for over twice as long. How odd that it has taken so long for the two to get together!

In fact the two proved to be ideal partners. The British Jazz Awards, despite frequent changes of venue and in the format of the event, have consistently rewarded the best and most committed musicians in British jazz; the Concorde Club, under Cole Matheson, has consistently employed those same people, together with plenty of the top names from abroad. The 2012 occasion was a perfect marriage of venue, presentation and performance. The club’s ambience is just formal enough, the balance of Prize Day and all-star jazz session was just right and, despite a few absentees, there were plenty of major musical talents in fine form.

At the end of the evening, the encore reunited all the musicians and added singer Liane Carroll who clearly loved swinging in front of a high-octane eight-piece on Pennies from Heaven – a perfectly exuberant finale, but I’m not so sure that an entire 90-minute set of such frolics would have held the attention. Instead the evening, as planned by Jazz Awards organiser and Jazz Rag editor Jim Simpson, consisted of assorted smaller groups in much more disciplined performances.Prize winners present were Enrico Tomasso on trumpet, Alan Barnes on clarinet and alto sax, Karen Sharp on tenor sax, Dave Newton on piano, Alec Dankworth on bass and Steve Brown on drums, joined by Rising Star Jamie Brownfield (trumpet) and new CD leader/producer Derek Nash (baritone sax).

The opening Oh, Lady Be Good was typically loosely arranged, with a succession of fine solos, and left me with two main impressions. One was that Jamie Brownfield is a remarkably sensible and self-assured young man: not in the least over-awed, he also avoided the folly of being too competitive in the company of musicians who’ve been round the block a time or two. Also, apropos of nothing in particular, it struck me that how rich the vein of non-specialist baritone sax players is: Derek Nash’s solos had a joyful attack all night and there he was beside Alan Barnes (a close run thing on baritone for the Miscellaneous Instrument category) and Karen Sharp (a player I almost prefer on baritone).The balance, roughly speaking, was 3 to 1 in favour of music, just over half an hour of presentation and speeches, a good 90 minutes of jazz, which is about right, I reckon. Not that the presentation is unimportant. Local radio and television personality Michael Kurns carried off the proceedings with efficiency, affability, enough knowledge and no pretence of expertise, helped by Jazz Rag’s Yue Yang’s immaculately timed envelopes, awards and winning smiles. The speeches were brief, genuine and often amusing: for some reason Alan Barnes was the object of much of his colleagues’ humour, Alec Dankworth’s quip that he’d only won because Alan had given up double bass being followed by Alan receiving the guitar award on behalf of the missing Martin Taylor! It was particularly pleasing to find Courtney Pine’s award for miscellaneous instrument being collected by a very self-possessed student of his at Southampton University and, if Digby Fairweather’s typical mix of generosity of spirit and idiosyncrasy of style posed challenges to Cole Matheson (receiving on his behalf and reading his acceptance speech), it didn’t disturb the good humour of the evening.

I guess many readers will have in mind plenty of outstanding musicians who ‘should’ have won – I can think of several myself – but all the winners more than justified their awards on the night – and I don’t think there would be too much argument with Martin Taylor, Courtney Pine or Mark Nightingale, either. The welcome conclusion is that, whatever problems jazz has in this country (and the odd barbed comment about those was the only non-joyful note in the evening), a shortage of talent isn’t one of them.

A final impression of the evening is of equal enjoyment on and off stage, of a complementary rather than competitive atmosphere (though just competitive enough to add a certain piquancy) – and anyone who doubts that music can, of itself, be humorous hasn’t listened to Dave Newton, Alan Barnes or Steve Brown.Probably the stand-out crowd-pleaser of the evening came with a monster performance by the three saxes of Cottontail, with the supremely versatile rhythm section at their most exuberant. (Again credit to Jamie Brownfield who, given the unenviable task of following this, kept his cool with a boppish Sweet Georgia Brown). Liane Carroll’s two features, You’ve Changed and That Old Devil Moon, each with one sax and rhythm, drew on her full range from delicate balladry to uninhibited scatting. Karen Sharp’s trio version of Bye Bye Baby thrust attention onto Alec Dankworth and Steve Brown, the one all fierce concentration, the other all sunny insouciance, both immaculate and inventive throughout a varied and demanding set. Similarly with the Barnes/Newton duo reading of Blues in Thirds, Alan justifying his nomination for clarinet, while Dave was arguably the star turn of the evening, his playing, enhanced by the Concorde’s superb grand piano, moving from witty asides to adventurous flights to thunderous climaxes and always coming back to home base and swinging two-handed piano.

RON SIMPSON

Editor, The Jazz Rag

Thanks to everyone who came to the British Jazz Awards presentation at The Concorde Club last night. An enjoyable evening of music and speeches was had by all, with an excellent on stage jam with the winners to round it off. A full report will follow shortly but in the mean time, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for: the winners!

Trumpet

Trombone

Clarinet

Alto Saxophone

Tenor Saxophone

Piano

Guitar

Bass

Drums

Miscellaneous

Vocals

Rising Star

Big Band

Small Group

New Album

Reissued Album

The nominations are announced for the 2012 British Jazz Awards, which is always a high point of the British jazz calendar. The 26^th edition of the awards will, as always, recognise some of the best talent that the British jazz scene has to offer.

The nomination panel has produced a shortlist of musicians, bands and albums across sixteen categories, and now the public has the chance to cast its vote to decide who will pick up one of this year’s “Jazz Oscars”. It is fair to say that they will be spoilt for choice, with well established musicians taking their place alongside the newer names.

Representing the aristocracy of British Jazz, performers such as saxophone stalwart Alan Barnes and singer Val Wiseman will find out if they can retain the awards they won last year. The bass category sees regular award winners Dave Green and Len Skeat in a group packed out with go-to names for those looking to put together a rhythm section that can deliver the goods.

Pianist and multiple award winner Dave Newton will this year face young gun Kit Downes in the award for that instrument. Meanwhile Downes’ collaborator on drums James Maddren is a first time nominee in the Rising Star category. Designed to recognise and provide exposure for those young performers who stand out from the rest of the pack, the award could go to him or any of the other three under 26 year olds in the frame.

Saxophone superstar Courtney Pine, nominated in the miscellaneous category for his work on the soprano instrument is up against Alan Barnes on baritone sax, Christian Garrick on violin and Jim Hart on vibraphone. The category brings together all-horn four piece Brass Jaw, award regulars Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen, The Great Wee Band (three quarters of whom are individual nominees) and hot new band Tipitina, who despite being eligible for a British Jazz award have their spiritual home in the dance halls of New Orleans.

For the first time ever this year’s awards will be presented at that true bastion of British Jazz, The Concorde Club in Southampton. Run by legendary promoter Cole Mathieson and his family, the venue has the distinction of being the UK’s oldest jazz club, having opened in 1957. The diary date for this year’s awards presentation is October 22^nd.

Jazz fans everywhere can help shape what promises to be a night to remember by voting online at tiny.cc/jazzawards or through forms mailed in the autumn edition of Jazz Rag magazine.

For tickets and directions to the awards ceremony visit www.theconcordeclub.com

Nominations for the 2012 British Jazz awards are as follows:

Trumpet: Bruce Adams, Enrico Tomasso, Guy Barker, Henry Lowther

Trombone: Dennis Rollins, Ian Bateman, Mark Nightingale, Roy Williams

Clarinet: Alan Barnes, Julian Marc Stringle, Mark Crooks, Tony Coe

Alto Saxophone: Alan Barnes, Derek Nash, Nigel Hitchcock, Peter King

Tenor Saxophone: Bobby Wellins, Karen Sharp, Robert Fowler, Simon Spillett

Piano: Craig Milverton, Dave Newton, Kit Downes, Nikki Iles

Guitar: Dave Cliff, Dominic Ashworth, Jim Mullen, Martin Taylor

Bass: Alec Dankworth, Andy Cleyndert, Dave Green, Len Skeat

Drums: Bobby Worth, Ralph Salmins, Sebastiaan De Krom, Steve Brown

Miscellaneous: Alan Barnes (baritone saxophone), Christian Garrick (violin), Courtney Pine (soprano saxophone), Jim Hart (vibraphone)

Vocals: Claire Martin, Liane Carroll, Liz Fletcher, Val Wiseman

Rising Star: Amy Roberts, James Maddren, Jamie Brownfield, Lewis Wright

Big Band: Back To Basie, Beats and Pieces, NYJO, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra

Small Group: Brass Jaw, Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen, The Great Wee Band, Tipitina

New CD: Derek Nash Acoustic Quartet: Joyriding (Jazzizit), The Great Wee Band: Light Blue (Trio), John Surman: Saltash Bells (ECM), Karen Sharp: Spirit (Trio)

Reissue CD: British Traditional Jazz – A Potted History (Lake), Bruce Turner: Accent On Swing (Lake), Stan Tracey: Leader And Sideman (Avid), The Joe Harriott Story (Proper)

The nomination panel is as follows:

Bob Weir (Jazz Journal) Chris Hodgkins (Jazz Services) Cole Mathieson (The Concorde Club) Dave Gelly (The Observer) David Nathan (The British Jazz Archive) Dick Laurie (Allegedly Hot News International) Fred Lindop (Swanage Jazz Festival) Jerry Brown (Norwich Jazz Party) John Hemming (MP) Liz Lincoln (Promoter) Lord Anthony Colwyn (Chair, All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group) Mike Gordon (Scarborough Jazz Festival) Mike Pointon (Jazz Writer)Peter Vacher (Jazz Writer)Roger Cotterrell (Book Publisher) Ron Simpson (The Jazz Rag) Tony Augarde (Musicweb International)