This year’s ceremony takes place at Under the Bridge on October 28th and will be hosted by Anne Frankenstein and Soweto Kinch.

Nubya Garcia, Celeste, SAULT, Jon Batiste, Floating Points, Emma-Jean Thackray and Gary Bartz are amongst nominees.

It is announced today that legendary British saxophonist Courtney Pine is to receive the prestigious Gold Award at this year’s Jazz FM Awardswith PPL and PRS for Music. Pine, one of the most celebrated UK jazz musicians of all time whose glittering three-decade career has included being awarded both an OBE and CBE for services to music, will collect the award in-person at the ceremony at Under the Bridge in West London on Thursday October 28th.

Pine will join a long list of illustrious artists to have received one of Jazz FM’s Special Awards including some of the true greats of the genre such as Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter, Norah Jones, Dame Cleo Laine, George Benson, Pat Metheny, Georgie Fame and Ahmad Jamal.

Courtney Pine:“I would sincerely like to thank all the hard-working members of Jazz FM for recognising me in this way. An award of this stature to someone like me is amazing, I never thought that I would be acknowledged for trying to perform jazz in the United Kingdom in this way. I am deeply honoured and truly realise the significance of a youth from North West London being given this Gold Award during these times. UK stand tall.”

The Gold Award will be presented to Pine on the night by the Jazz FM Awards headline sponsors PPL and PRS for Music.

Peter Leathem, Chief Executive Officer, PPL:“Courtney Pine CBE is a truly deserving winner of this year’s Gold Award. Since the 1980s he has been an instrumental figure in the UK jazz scene, releasing critically acclaimed solo work as well as regularly collaborating with his contemporaries in bands like Jazz Warriors. The lasting impact of these collaborations, which aimed to promote black jazz artists, can be seen today in the outstanding talents currently on the UK jazz scene, for whom Courtney and his peers blazed a trail. Congratulations Courtney and thank you for your contribution to UK jazz.”

Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music:“We are delighted to be a headline sponsor of the Jazz FM Awards this year, it is an important moment to recognise and celebrate the creative excellence of the UK’s jazz community. In particular, all of us at PRS for Music would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Courtney Pine for his Gold Award. With a career in the British jazz scene spanning over thirty years, Courtney continues to break new ground with a string of highly acclaimed recordings and numerous accolades.”

This year’s Jazz FM Awards ceremony will be hosted by Jazz FM presenter Anne Frankenstein and British jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch and nomineesinclude star saxophonistNubya Garcia, chart-topping singerCeleste, London soul collectiveSAULT, US pianist and singerJon Batiste, fast-rising trumpeterEmma-Jean Thackray, producer and DJFloating Points with theLondon Symphony Orchestra andPharoah Sanders, neo-soul singer-songwriterEgo Ella May, revered British-Italian singerGeorgia Mancio, and the legendary alto saxophonistGary Bartz.

JAZZ FM AWARDS 2021 with PPL and PRS for Music: 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)

UK JAZZ ACT OF THE YEAR 

Archipelago

Emma-Jean Thackray

Fergus McCreadie

GIFTED AWARD CATEGORIES 

GOLD AWARD

Courtney Pine

IMPACT AWARD 

TBA

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 

TBA

Public voting is open now atwww.jazzfmawards.com and will close on Friday September 24th.

The Jazz FM Awards 2021 is made possible with the support of PPL and PRS for Music, Mishcon De Reya, Travelzoo, Raisin UK, Hampstead Jazz Club presents, Sky VIP, Denbies, David Arnold Music and Yamaha.

Launching this year on the Jazz FM Premium app is a Jazz FM Awards channel that celebrates the rich history of the Awards with non-stop, ad break free music from winners and nominees. Jazz FM Premium launched earlier this year and offers its subscribers 20 exclusive Jazz FM stations along with a host of additional content.

www.jazzfmawards.com

joe@baxterpr.com // 0044 7980 803 511 //www.baxterpr.com

For further press information on Jazz FM, please contact:

Cat Martin – Bauer Media Communications Director (Radio)

M: 07932 746 363

Amelia O’Shea – Bauer Media Communications Manager (Radio)

M: 07718 489342

About Jazz FM:

Jazz FM plays the world’s greatest jazz, soul and blues from the world’s greatest artists.Since its launch in 1990, Jazz FM has pioneered a new approach to broadcasting. The music output is truly unique; a colourful mixture of well-known pieces by legends including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Nina Simone, alongside emerging artists such as Judi Jackson, Kamasi Washington and Ezra Collective.

As the UK’s only dedicated Jazz broadcaster, Jazz FM is on a mission to entertain, promote and celebrate all that’s great about Jazz. Involvement with national festivals and awards is part of this – setting the bar high for live performance, recognising outstanding talent and strengthening the Jazz community. Jazz FM also offers an even deeper dive to jazz fans with its online Premium service where they can listen without ad-breaks and access exclusive jazz, soul and blues 24/7 radio stations alongside the rich archive of programmes that’s been over 30 years in the making.

But no matter how or where people listen, they always listen in colour.