Genius pianist Barney McAll dominates the shortlist, being featured in four categories with his visceral masterpiece, ‘Hearing the Blood’, while brilliant newcomer saxophonist Evan Harris follows with three nominations, each representing a different generation of Australian jazz.
The shortlist for this year’s Australian Jazz “BELL” Awards has been officially announced. This year’s crop has been extraordinary, with many great albums submitted in the competition. The amount of talent in this list is overwhelming, and it is bound to make the work of the judges very hard
” I always have to have an emotional connection to the song, otherwise I don’t feel I’ll be able to do a good job. I’ve never been good at pretending, so it has to be honest and real”.
Albert Dadon is very ambitious about Bird’s Basement, expressing the certainty that it will become “one of the best clubs in the world”.
There have been changes to the submission process for the 2016 Bell Awards. To be considered for submission in 2016 you must be a member of the Australian Jazz Academy or have a member of the Academy endorse your project.
“Living in America is what drew my personality out completely. In the United States, they really celebrate the individual. It was an environment where I found myself unafraid to try things and really develop the music I was hearing in my head.”
Mustafa’s sound is a coalescence of classical and jazz sounds, two passions which he has cultivated over a number of years. Listening to large orchestral music, particularly Romantic era works, Mustafa loved the way that the parts of the orchestra worked together (and he further explores this in his jazz writing) “It comes back to the fact that I love textures and instrumental colours. I think that is reflective in my playing as well”, he says.
It was a bright and starry night, one of mirth and celebration and camaraderie. It was the night that artists and supporters, musicians and afficionados, jazz elders and rising stars gathered to celebrate the accomplishments and creativity and everything that makes the Australian Jazz scene what it is. There was a ravishing MC, Helen Kapalos, and …
The agony and speculation is over. The nominees for this year’s Australian Jazz Bell Awards have been announced. Among them appear, naturally, some of the best and brightest talents of the country’s flourishing jazz community. The winners – as well as the recipient of the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame, in recognition of an outstanding …
From the media release Celebrating its 13th year in 2015, the Jazz Bell Awards, the only jazz-specific awards in Australia to acknowledge excellence in performance, creativity and presentation, are on their way. With only three months until the ceremony and just two weeks to go for nominations to be submitted, anyone interested should not delay and …