Celeste, Nubya Garcia Among Nominees For 2021 Jazz FM Awards

This year’s ceremony will take place at London’s Under The Bridge on October 28.

Published on

September 2, 2021

Celeste - Photo: Jesse Crankson

The nominees for the 2021 Jazz FM Awards with PPL and PRS for Music have been announced, once again recognizing a diverse array of artists from the UK and abroad who have made a significant impact on the genre. This year’s ceremony will take place at Under The Bridge in West London on October 28 2021 and will be available to livestream via Jazz FM. The Awards will celebrate music created and released between 1st January 2020 to the end of May 2021 to reflect the jazz community’s enduring creativity and innovation during the pandemic.

As announced in a special Jazz FM programme hosted by Anne Frankenstein, nominees this year include star saxophonist Nubya Garcia, chart-topping singer Celeste, London soul collective SAULT, US pianist and singer Jon Batiste, fast-rising trumpeter Emma-Jean Thackray, producer and DJ Floating Points with the London Symphony Orchestra and Pharoah Sanders, neo-soul singer-songwriter Ego Ella May, revered British-Italian singer Georgia Mancio, and the legendary alto saxophonist Gary Bartz. The recipients of the special award categories – Lifetime Achievement Award, Gold Award and Impact Award – will be announced in due course.

Since launching in 2013, the Jazz FM Awards has become one of the most anticipated events in the international jazz calendar honoring some of the true greats of the genre including the likes of Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter, Norah Jones, Dame Cleo Laine, George Benson, Pat Metheny, Georgie Fame and Ahmad Jamal.

Jazz FM Content Director Nick Pitts said: “We are of course delighted that the Jazz FM Awards will return in 2021 to celebrate the incredible level of innovation, creativity and joy that the global jazz community has to offer. Jazz has provided a lifeline for so many of us over the last year and a half and we look forward to bringing everyone together again for what is sure to be a very special occasion.

“We also welcome PPL and PRS for Music who are the Jazz FM Awards headline sponsors for 2021. They have both been outstanding supporters of the Jazz FM Awards since its inception in 2013 and I’m so pleased that they have cemented their position as true supporters of the UK’s greatest jazz, soul and blues music awards”.

Peter Leathem, Chief Executive Officer, PPL added: “Having supported the Jazz FM Awards since it began in 2013, we are delighted to be this year’s headline partners alongside our colleagues at PRS for Music. We are proud champions of jazz music at PPL and are delighted to help fund the careers of artists through our talent development work. Indeed, it’s a pleasure to see a number of artists we have supported through the PRS Foundation PPL Momentum Music Fund amongst those shortlisted this year. The UK is a hotbed of jazz music talent and we look forward to the sector’s continued success in the future.”

Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music continued: “We are incredibly proud to be joint headline sponsor of the 2021 Jazz FM Awards, alongside PPL. Even in the face of a global pandemic, songwriters and composers in the jazz, soul and blues communities continued to produce inspired music, and we are honored to support Jazz FM in acknowledging and recognizing them for their exceptional work. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and we look forward to celebrating with you in person at this truly special event.”

2021 JAZZ FM AWARDS NOMINEES:

BLUES ACT OF THE YEAR:
Eric Bibb
Marcus Bonfanti
Ruthie Foster

BREAKTHROUGH ACT OF THE YEAR:
Jas Kayser
Nathaniel Cross
Secret Night Gang

THE DIGITAL AWARD:
Bandcamp Fridays
jazz re:freshed
Kansas Smitty’s

THE INNOVATION AWARD sponsored by Mishcon de Reya:
Blue Note Re:imagined
EFG London Jazz Festival
SAULT

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR:
Amanda Whiting
Daniel Casimir
Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne

INTERNATIONAL JAZZ ACT OF THE YEAR sponsored by Travelzoo:
Christian McBride
Gary Bartz
Maria Schneider

SOUL ACT OF THE YEAR:
Ego Ella May
Jon Batiste
Omar

VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Celeste
Ego Ella May
Georgia Mancio

PUBLIC VOTE CATEGORIES:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Fergus McCreadie: Cairn
Floating Points, London Symphony Orchestra, and Pharoah Sanders: Promises
Jon Batiste: WE ARE
Matthew Halsall: Salute To The Sun
Nubya Garcia: SOURCE
SAULT: UNTITLED (Black Is)