The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies. The Juno Awards are often referred to as the Canadian equivalent of the Brit Awards in Great Britain or the Grammy Awards given in the United States.
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that was first presented in 1959.
The Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.
Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, better known as Chucho Valdés, is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger whose career spans over 50 years. In 1965 the young pianist left Elio Reve's Charangon to pursue a jazz career. An original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, in 1973 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Both his father, Bebo Valdés, and his son, Chuchito, are pianists as well. His wife is Lorena Salsedo. As a solo artist, he has won four Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.
Maria Lynn Schneider is an American composer and jazz orchestra leader who has won multiple Grammy Awards.
The Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works in the Latin jazz music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is a eight-time Grammy Award winner.
Gary Crosby is a British jazz double bassist, composer, music arranger, and educator. He was a founder member of the celebrated group the Jazz Warriors in the 1980s and has worked with many top international artists.
Gwilym Simcock is a Welsh pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, often blurring any distinction between the two musical forms.
Mark Lockheart is a British jazz tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Loose Tubes big band during the 1980s.
Madeleine Louise Mitchell MMus, ARCM, GRSM, FRSA is a British violinist who has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in over forty countries. She has a wide repertoire and is particularly known for commissioning and premiering new works and for promoting British music in concert and on disc.
Orphy Robinson M.B.E is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, marimba, steelpans and drums. He has written music for television, film and theatre.
Mamadou Diabaté is a Malian musician known for his work with the kora. He began playing quite early in his life, became known as a musician in the area of Mali in which he lived, and has since moved to the United States, recording several albums.
Ivo Michael Beale Neame is a British jazz pianist and composer. In addition to leading his own bands he is a member of several European jazz groups including Phronesis, the Marius Neset Quintet, and the Kairos 4Tet. He is a Professor of Jazz Piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK political parties. The awards were the brainchild Bob Blizzard, a long-time enthusiast of the jazz genre who was concerned that there was a lack of national recognition for the work of jazz performers and venues across the UK. Blizzard was involved with organising and running the awards for 11 years. Also supporting the awards are Jazz Services, Jazz UK, Jazzwise, the UK Musicians' Union jazz section, and PPL.
Kit Downes is a BBC Jazz Award winning, Mercury Music Award nominated, solo recording artist for ECM Records.
Phronesis is a Jazz trio, formed in 2005 by Danish bass player Jasper Høiby, the piano trio is completed by British pianist Ivo Neame and Swedish drummer Anton Eger. Phronesis have been described by Jazzwise magazine as "the most exciting and imaginative piano trio since e.s.t. - Esbjörn Svensson Trio". In 2017 the band was awarded Jazz Ensemble of the Year in the APPJAG Parliamentary Jazz Awards (
Tomorrow's Warriors is an innovative jazz music education and artist development organisation that was co-founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and Gary Crosby, committed to increasing diversity across the arts through jazz, with a special focus on those "from the African diaspora and female musicians and those whose financial or other circumstances might lock them out of opportunities to pursue a career in the music industry". Crosby drew inspiration from having been a member of the Jazz Warriors, a London-based group of musicians that in the 1980s showcased many young Black British musicians who went on to achieve international success. Tomorrow's Warriors, which has a multiracial make-up, provides a platform for young musicians wishing to pursue a career in jazz, and aims "to inspire, foster and grow a vibrant community of artists, audiences and leaders who together will transform the lives of future generations by increasing opportunity, diversity and excellence in and through jazz." Alumni of Tomorrow's Warriors have gone on to win several awards.
Laura Jurd is a musician and composer from Hampshire, United Kingdom. She plays trumpet and synthesizer. She has released albums as a solo artist, and she plays in a jazz quartet named Dinosaur, whose album Together, As One was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2017.
