Last night at London’s Under The Bridge venue, the stars came out for the Jazz FM Awards with PPL and PRS to honour artists from the worlds of jazz, blues and soul music.
Attending was Courtney Pine MBE, who collected The Gold Award and the much admired long-running jazz development organisation, Tomorrows Warriors, who, in the year of their 30th anniversary, picked up a much deserved Impact Award.
Arguably the most venerated figure to appear t last night’s award ceremony was the great Tony Bennett, who not only picked up a Lifetime Achievement award but also serenaded the audience from his New York home with a heartfelt rendition of ‘The Way You Look Tonight.’
Proud to be a Jazz FM award winner, Bennett said: “I listened to jazz musicians to develop my own vocal style. They are such expert craftsmen which allows them to be spontaneous and stay in the moment and always change what they were doing. That really appealed to me and it’s one of the reasons I have gravitated to always having jazz musicians perform and record with me over the years. I would like to thank all the jazz greats I have worked with over the decades for this honour and thank you to Jazz FM for celebrating this treasured art form.”
Other winners on the nights included US pianist and singer Jon Batiste (Album Of The Year and Soul Act Of The Year), alto saxophonist Gary Bartz (International Jazz Act Of The Year), rising trumpeter sensation Emma-Jean Thackray (UK Jazz Act Of The Year) and the EFG London Jazz Festival, who triumphed in the Digital Award category for their 2020 online festival.
