This year's Parliamentary Jazz Awards, which are organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Group (APPJG) and supported by music licensing company PPL, were announced on Tuesday 29 October. The Awards celebrate and recognise the vibrancy, diversity, talent and breadth of the jazz scene throughout the UK.
Saxophonist and composer Emma Rawicz, who graduated from the Academy in July this year and has already made a name for herself in the UK jazz scene, received the Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year award. Emma was previously recognised as Jazz Newcomer of the Year at the 2022 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
2013 graduate Emma Smith, who was made an Associate of the Academy in 2020, won the Jazz Vocalist of the Year award, while fellow alum Ife Ogunjobi, trumpeter and Ezra Collective member (pictured left), received the Jazz Newcomer of the Year award.
Zoe Rahman, who studied piano at Junior Academy and is now a Visiting Ensemble Professor in the Jazz Department, won the Jazz Album of the Year award for her LP The Colour Of Sound. A Special APPJG Award was given to Visiting Professor of Jazz Voice, Anita Wardell, to recognise her longstanding contributions to jazz in the UK.
The Academy sends their warmest congratulations to everyone on these significant achievements.
Image: Ezra Collective celebrating their Mercury Prize win in 2023