The nominations for the 2016 Jazz FM Awards have been announced. The most prestigious ceremony in the jazz, soul and blues calendar is this year taking place on Tuesday 26th April at London’s Bloomsbury Ballroom and will feature a performance by Gregory Porter, who will also receive the Jazz Impact Award.
Once again the public will be able to vote for the winner of three categories Album of the Year, UK Jazz Act of the Year and Live Experience of the Year. Voting will be open from 24th February to the 31st March via the Awards website. This year also sees the addition of a new award, the Digital Initiative Award, that has been created to recognise a musician who has harnessed the power of technology to engage with audiences.
You can read the full list of nominees here but my interest is in the new award Digital Initiative of the Year (Sponsored by 7digital) with nominees:
- Chassol
- Jacob Collier
- Tin Men and the Telephone
Jacob Collier is recognized as one of the world’s most distinctive, inventive and prodigious young musicians. Based in London, Jacob has been inspired by many sounds – his music combines elements of Jazz, A cappella, Groove, Folk, Trip-hop, Classical music, Brazilian music, Gospel, Soul and Improvisation (to name a few), which culminate to create the world of “Jacob Collier.” Jacob grew up in a family of musicians, and has honed his musical ideas from a very young age.
He has embraced the world of the internet to share his uniquely creative talent, becoming best known for creating his trademark multi-faceted YouTube videos from his music room at home, wherein he sings all the parts, plays all the instruments, and visualises every component with a mosaic of screens. Since his first YouTube upload in December 2011, Jacob’s online social channels have gathered over 70K international subscribers and more than 4.7 million views. With viral hits such as his rendition of the Stevie Wonder classic, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing,” Collier has garnered a global following, and some of his greatest fans among the elite Jazz community include Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Steve Vai and Take 6, to name a few (and me!).
I can’t wait to see him live at Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Friday 29 April, I’ve been admiring his trajectory for a few years now and I wish him good luck in the awards!
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