The Jazz Journalists Association has announced nominee finalists for the 2023
JJA Jazz Awards, the organization’s 28th annual celebration of excellence in jazz and jazz journalism. Of thousands of nominees proposed for Awards in 49 categories by professional voting members of the JJA in first round submissions, dozens claiming the most mentions are presented to those same JJA members for consideration of their works in calendar year 2022.
Photos of the Year, Album Art of the Year, Jazz Documentaries, Books, Podcasts, Publications and Streaming Platforms are among the media categories, while awards for Recordings and Performance ranging from vocalists and big bands to players of every kind of instrument, including electronics.
Lifetime Achievement Awards for Jazz Journalism cite Nate Chinen, Ashley Kahn, Will Friedwald and Gene Seymour, who are all authors/critic/broadcasters/educators/cultural critics/public speakers. Lifetime Achievement in Jazz finalists are tenor sax standard-bearer George Coleman, solo and ensemble piano recitalist Keith Jarrett, wind and reeds playing composer/improviser/ensemble leader Charles Lloyd (a Memphis contemporary of Coleman’s, in whose 1960’s quartet Jarrett emerged), and composer/trumpeter/educator/philosopher Wadada Leo Smith.
Records nominated for Best of the Year are Ghost Song (Nonesuch) — Cécile McLorin Salvant; Música De Las Américas (Miel Music) — Miguel Zenón; New Standards Vol. 1 (Candid) — Terri Lyne Carrington, and Mesmerism (Yeros7 Music) — Tyshawn Sorey Trio. Zenón, Carrington and also Charles Lloyd have been nominated as Musician of the Year, along with guitarist Mary Halvorson.
See all nominees for Journalism and Media here; nominees for Recordings and Performance awards here. Winners of the 2023 JJA Jazz Awards will be announced Wednesday, May 17, with an interactive online experience with winners to be scheduled, along with in-person presentations. For further information including sponsorship opportunities for the JJA Jazz Awards, contact Howard Mandel, President@JazzJournalists.org.
