The nominations for the 31st edition of the British Jazz Awards have just been announced and we received the fantastic news that the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra has been nominated in the category of “Best Big Band” in the 2017  Awards.  Not only that but Martin Taylor, currently our guest on “In the Spirit of Django”, is also nominated… a double celebration!

The awards were set up to help the best musicians, bands and album releases get the recognition they deserve. An expert nominations panel have put their heads together to produce the list of nominees for the 2017 British Jazz Awards, and this year it includes several from Scotland so now it’s over to you, the public!

You can vote online in any or all of the 16 categories for the best instrumentalists, singers, bands and albums over the last 12 months – just follow this link: http://tiny.cc/britishjazzawards17/

Voting closes on 31st October, with the results announced the following week so PLEASE vote.

The nominees in full are:
Best Trumpet Player: Bruce Adams, Enrico Tomasso, Freddie Gavita, Laura Jurd

Best Trombone Player: Adrian Fry, Dennis Rollins, Ian Bateman, Mark Nightingale

Best Clarinet Player: Alan Barnes, Julian Stringle, Mark Crooks, Peter Long

Best Alto Saxophone Player: Alan Barnes, Derek Nash, Nigel Hitchcock, Soweto Kinch

Best Tenor Saxophone Player: Alex Garnett, Art Themen, Karen Sharp, Robert Fowler

Best Guitarist: Jim Mullen, Martin Taylor, Nigel Price, Remi Harris

Best Pianist: David Newton, Gareth Williams, Nikki Iles, Zoe Rahman

Best Double Bass Player: Alec Dankworth, Andrew Cleyndert, Dave Green, Simon Thorpe

Best Drummer: Clark Tracey, Matt Home, Steve Brown, Winston Clifford

Best Vocalist: Claire Martin, CLARE TEAL, Georgia Mancio, Tina May

Misc Instruments: Alan Barnes (Bari Sax), Jim Hart (Vibraphone), Karen Sharp (Bari Sax), Ross Stanley

Best Small Group: Brandon Allen Six, Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen, Nigel Price Organ Trio, Tipitina

Best Big Band: Beats and Pieces, Echoes of Ellington, NYJO, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra

Rising Star: Alexandra Ridout Music, Camilla George, Nubya Garcia, Rory Ingham

Best New CD: Explore Records for Golden Moments by Bruce Adams/Craig Milverton; Gearbox Records for Journey To The Mountain Of Forever by Binker & Moses; JVG Productions for It’s Always 9:30 In Zog by Dave O’Higgins; Woodville Records for The Lowest Common Denominator by Gilad Atzmon and Alan Barnes

Best Reissue CD: Acrobat Music for Helter Sketler by Joe Harriott; Harkit Records for Change of Setting by Tubby Hayes and Paul Gonsalves; Lake Records for Dusting Off The Archives by Humphrey Lyttleton ; Rhythm and Blues Records for The Songbook by Harry South

It should only take a few minutes but it would be great to have your support.

Thank you