The stars of Scotland’s burgeoning jazz scene were celebrated at the 2023 Scottish Jazz Awards. Hosted by multi-award winning musician Seonaid Aitken, the sparkling ceremony took place at the historic Savings Bank in Glasgow on Thursday 7th December and saw winners across six categories honoured for their outstanding contributions to the genre.
Since their inception, the Scottish Jazz Awards have become a hallmark event on the Scottish cultural calendar, recognising and honouring contributions to the genre from some of Scotland’s finest vocalists and instrumentalists, while inspiring gifted newcomers to the scene.
A carefully selected shortlist across five categories was chosen by a panel of industry specialists, including media, press and promoters from across the UK, alongside last year’s winners who were ineligible to be nominated in the same category. Over 3,000 public votes were then cast to decide the winners, while the Critics’ Choice Award was chosen by the panel of judges.
The winners at the 11th Scottish Jazz Awards are:
Rising Star Award sponsored by Musicians’ Union – Kimberley Tessa
The Fionna Duncan Best Vocalist Award sponsored by Whighams Jazz Club – Marianne McGregor
Best Instrumentalist Award sponsored by ESP Music Rentals – Ewan Hastie
Best Band Award sponsored by PizzaExpress Live – corto.alto
Best Album Award sponsored by Birnam CD – Marram by Matt Carmichael
The Best Vocalist Award has been renamed in honour of the late jazz singer Fionna Duncan, who sadly passed away last year. Fionna made great contributions to the Scottish jazz scene with her impeccable vocals and infectious enthusiasm for the music, and was a previous recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Thank you to all our sponsors and supporters. The Scottish Jazz Awards are produced as an independent event by the organisers of Glasgow Jazz Festival and supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.