This year's Scottish Jazz Awards, being held at a new time of year and in a new venue, also have a new partner in The Herald, which will be bringing you a step-by-step guide to influencing the decision-making and voting in one of the categories.
The awards ceremony will this year be held at Dirty Martini in Le Monde in George Street, Edinburgh, the venue for the inaugural Vocal Jazz Festival during this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, on Monday October 21, when the house trio for the night will be pianist Brian Kellock, bassist Mario Caribe and drummer Mark Scobbie, a finalist in this year's Young Scottish Jazz Musician contest. On that evening the winner of the Best Album award, selected by a public vote, will be announced alongside the winners in the other categories.
Last year's event, held between the Glasgow and Edinburgh jazz festivals, saw a double success for saxophonist and composer Tommy Smith, leader of the Scotish National Jazz Orchestra, in both the education and album categories for his work at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and for the debut disc from his small group, Karma.
Other winners in 2012 included vocalists Carol Kidd and Kurt Elling, guitarists Martin Taylor and Graeme Stephen, and writer Rob Adams for his two decades of jazz coverage in The Herald.
Nominations for this year's award are open until noon on Friday of this week and can be made online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SJANominate2013.
The categories remain the same as last year: album; vocalist; instrumentalist; jazz in the media; international; innovation; emsemble; education; services to jazz; emerging artist/rising star; and live jazz experience.
The longlist of nominees will be published on the Scottish Jazz Federation website during next week and will be considered by a panel of industry professionals who will select a top three in each category. That shortlist will be published on line and in The Herald on Wednesday October 9.
Voting in the best album category, from the shortlist selected by the panel, will open to the public that day at 10am and continue until 5pm on Friday October 11.
The result of that poll and the deliberations of the judges on the other categories will be revealed at the red carpet event at Dirty Martini on October 21.
Cathie Rae, director of the Scotttish Jazz Federation, which organises the awards with promoter Todd Gordon, said: "We are extremely proud of the quality of the music that is being created here and is recognised through performances in the US and Europe, and we want to celebrate the excellence of our jazz scene as loudly as possible."
For more information and updates, visit the federation website: scottishjazzfederation.com.
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