Top musical talent recognised at Scottish Jazz Awards

The winners of the seventh Scottish Jazz Awards were unveiled last night.

They were announced at a prestigious ceremony at Drygate in Glasgow, as Scotland’s vibrant jazz scene gathered to pay tribute to its standout musical talent.

A panel of industry specialists, including press and promoters from across the UK, selected the shortlists before the public chose the winners.

Thousands of people voted online to decide which of Scotland’s most revered jazz musicians scooped a Scottish Jazz award.

Categories included Best Vocalist and Best Album, alongside a new prize, Services To Scottish Jazz Award, celebrating those working behind the scenes in the industry and chosen by the panel. The Lifetime Achievement Award was also selected by the panel and this year’s recipient Martin Taylor joins a revered hall of fame which includes Fionna Duncan and Carol Kidd.

Winners of the seventh Scottish Jazz Awards are as follows:

Best Vocalist Award, sponsored by Whighams Jazz Club: Georgia Cecile

Best Instrumentalist Award, sponsored by ESP Music Rentals: Brian Kellock.

Best Band Award, sponsored by Musicians’ Union: Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.

Best Album Award, sponsored by Birnam CD: Fergus McCreadie Trio, Turas.

Rising Star Award, sponsored by The Blue Arrow, Marianne McGregor.

Services to Scottish Jazz, sponsored by Ticketmaster: Jazz Scotland.

Lifetime Achievement Award, in association with Help Musicians Scotland: Martin Taylor.

Georgia Cécile winner with her Best Vocalist Award and Marianne McGregor, winner of Rising Star Award

The Scottish Jazz Awards are hosted as an independent event by the organisers of Glasgow Jazz Festival and supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Jill Rodger, director of Glasgow Jazz Festival and host of the Scottish Jazz Awards, said: ‘The Scottish Jazz Awards are about honouring some of the most talented and revered musicians in the industry.

‘The public and the panel did not have an easy feat deciding which of Scotland’s exceptional jazz musicians should receive these awards – huge congratulations to everyone who was nominated, and to all of our winners. The recognition is richly deserved.’

This year the Scottish Jazz Awards teamed up with a new charity partner Help Musicians Scotland to spread awareness of their frontline services and to raise vital funds to empower Scottish musicians and those in the Scottish music industry.

This year’s Glasgow Jazz Festival will see more than 300 musicians play over 40 shows from Wednesday 19 to Sunday 23 June as the city comes alive with the sound of jazz, blues, soul, funk, R&B, electronic and world music.

Tickets and the full programme for Glasgow Jazz Festival are available at www.jazzfest.co.uk.

The Glasgow International Jazz Festival was founded in 1987, when Glasgow was bidding to become the European City of Culture for 1990. The city had studied the competition and worked out that all major cities in Europe had a jazz festival. If they had one, then so should Glasgow.

From the very beginning, the Glasgow International Jazz Festival brought some of the biggest names of jazz to the City –1987’s programme included singer Sarah Vaughan, Chick Corea, Taj Mahal, Benny Carter and Carol Kidd. Other top headliners include Miles Davis (during the European City of Culture year 1990), Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Guy, Michael Brecker and Tony Bennett.