Ezra Collective, Shabaka Hutchings, Pat Metheny and Dame Cleo Laine were among the big winners at the 2018 Jazz FM Awards.

London quintet  https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/interviews/interview-kemi-koleoso-ezra-collective/" rel="nofollow - Ezra Collective  took both the UK Jazz Act of the Year Award and the Live Experience of the Year Award at the ceremony, which took place at Shoreditch Town Hall, London, last night (Monday).

Dame Cleo, the contralto with an incredible three octave range, was honoured with the PPL Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to British jazz.

Hutchings received the Jazz Innovation Award while American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny took the PRS for Music Gold Award.

Metheny told M: ‘[This award] feels pretty amazing. When things like this come along they always catch me off-guard. It’s not really the kind of thing I lay awake dreaming about as I’m mainly concerned with F and B flat and stuff like that!

‘Anything that happens around the music, rather than inside the music, is a little bit off my radar. I feel really lucky to say I’ve been able to live inside being a musician, spending my time trying to understand it. Every now and again I step out of that, and when it’s something like this, it’s incredibly gratifying.’

Elsewhere,  https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/interviews/interview-zara-mcfarlane-2/" rel="nofollow - Zara McFarlane  took home the Vocalist of the Year Award, Evan Parker received the Instrumentalist of the Year accolade and the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award went to  https://www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/interviews/interview-nubya-garcia/" rel="nofollow - Nubya Garcia .

International winners on the night included genre-defying bassist Thundercat, whose critically acclaimed Drunk was voted Album of the Year, Robert Cray for International Blues Artist of the Year and Moonchild for International Soul Artist of the Year.

Taking place on UNESCO’s International Jazz Day, and hosted by Jazz FM presenters Chris Philips and Jez Nelson, the event’s fifth outing featured a performance from US vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant.

Multi-Grammy Award-winning bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding and saxophonist Garcia also performed.

from www.m-magazine.co.uk