Callum Allardice and Jonathan Crayford are the big winners at the Jazz Music Awards in Wellington.
The 2017 award makes it two in a row for Callum Allardice, who won the 2016 APRA Best Jazz Composition award for Sons of Thunder. This year's winning composition Deep Thought is performed by Antipodes, a creative contemporary jazz sextet playing works by Callum, long-time collaborator Jake Baxendale and Australian pianist and composer, Luke Sweeting.
2017 NZ Jazz Award winners Jonathan Crayford and Callum Allardice with festival Artistic Director Shelagh Magadza Photo: Stephen A'Court
Ant Healey, Head of New Zealand Operations of APRA AMCOS, the body which looks after song writers and composers, says Allardice's second tui is well deserved. "His beautiful compositions are indicative of the rich, evocative, high quality jazz being written across New Zealand, and we're so pleased to be celebrating with this community at the Wellington Jazz Festival this year."
Callum Allardice being awarded the 2017 APRA Best Jazz Composition Award Photo: Stephen A'Court
Jonathan Crayford won the Recorded Music NZ Best Jazz Album for the seven-track East West Moon. Recorded Music NZ CEO Damian Vaughan says the album shows the jazz scene in New Zealand is world class. "Jazz is a difficult yet beautiful music genre. I congratulate Jonathan on recording an exceptional album which is well deserving of a Tui".
Other best album finalists were Myele Manzanza for OnePointOne and the Mike Nock Trio & NZ Trio for Vicissitudes. The other composition finalists included Bruce Brown for It's A Good Time (To Be A Man), and Jasmine Lovell-Smith for Familia.
The awards were announced on Sunday as part of the Wellington Jazz Festival for the first time.
