Awards,
Jazz Recordings of the Year - Finalists 2023
What a terrific year it's been for new music from the jazzosphere! We've had the privilege of listening to and reviewing a whole heap incredible recordings to have been released by the most wickedly talented contemporary artists around. Over the course of the past 12 months, the team here have been whittling down our favourite new albums from across the globe, each of which has made its way to our Leamington Spa office for us to sink our teeth into and wrap our ears around.
With a wide variety to choose from, the task was never going to be easy... but, with the help of our trusty reviews and weekly new release round-ups, we've revisited some of the most impressionable records from this year — ones we think deserve to take their newly-minted place in the jazz canon.
The shortlist for this year's Presto Awards celebrates the veritable breadth of the current jazz scene both at home and abroad, which we hope you will see reflected in our choice of nominees. You can browse through the finalists below, and until 29th January 2024 we're offering discounts of up to 15% on almost all of the featured titles. As always, stay tuned for our winners announcement along with prizes for Label of the Year, Archive/Reissue and Newcomer in Jazz on the evening of Thursday 7th December!
Jazz Recording of the Year - Nominees
Alexander Hawkins Trio - Carnival Celestial (Intakt)
"...The synergy throughout the album’s dance-like structure exhibits the musicians’ playfulness in their adventurousness as they rise and fall in perpetual freeness."
Alfa Mist - Variables (ANTI-)
"Having emerged from the emotive hip-hop soundworld of London which often characterised his earlier work, this latest effort showcases the much in-demand keyboardist as he broadens into a more pensive and mature brand of mellowness."
Billy Childs - The Winds of Change (Mack Avenue)
"Childs has an exquisite lightness of touch which often imbues his faster bop playing with a carefree joyfulness, and, 35 years on from his debut as a leader, it’s great to hear that he’s lost not one jot of this spirit."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Cécile McLorin Salvant - Mélusine (Nonesuch)
Celebrated as a half-reptilian symbol of the sacred feminine in all its supernatural splendour, the titular narrative thread of this album sees McLorin Salvant, already an artist in a league-of her own amongst other figures in jazz, enter the mystical realm of Francophonic folklore. Featuring a tantalising mixture of originals and interpretations, with some dating as far back as the twelfth century, this record is a sumptuous cultural amalgamation of the vocalist's wide-ranging interests.
Cecilie Strange - Beyond (April)
"Always moving forward, the Danish saxophonist develops her sound as she leads her quartet in balancing sombre and contemplative moods with a delicate intensity of emotional feeling... Her affections are depicted through the quietly strong musicianship that calmly carries the listener from beginning to end."
Chris Potter - Got the Keys to the Kingdom: Live at the Village Vanguard (Edition)
"This broad-ranging set, recorded at the iconic New York venue, boasts a certain rawness in its unassuming simplicity. You can just feel the onstage electricity originating from the captivating interrelation of the players, before it bellows out through the immediate audience and beyond."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Emma Rawicz - Chroma (ACT)
This gifted young multi-instrumentalist presents her first album on the prestigious and highly creative ACT label. On this fascinating release, Emma charts her experience as an already-mature performer and composer with a synesthetically-tinged array of tunes, each one exhibiting bright flecks of colour.
Fire! Orchestra - Echoes (Rune Grammofon)
"Imagine David Axelrod’s Songs of Innocence fronted by Albert Ayler, and you’re halfway to having an idea as to what to expect from this new album. Full of imaginative twists and turns, this is an invigorating set for those after cutting-edge big band sounds..."
Helge Lien Trio & Tore Brunborg - Funeral Dance (Ozella)
"Succinctly evoking his teacher [Misha Alperin]'s memory, this ensemble manages to avoid all the trappings of glib melancholia, offering instead a thoughtful and reflective fifty-five minutes of raw beauty. It is certainly a goal worth having pursued."
Irreversible Entanglements - Protect Your Light (Impulse!)
"Since releasing their explosive self-titled debut EP six years ago, the group have boldly gone from strength to strength, briskly expanding their sonic profile through a barrage of radical energy and experimentation."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet - For Mahalia, With Love (TAO Forms)
"The enticing timbres of horns, string and percussion interact vividly in a riveting display of freeness, which, whilst audacious, remains fervently committed to its deep spiritual foundations."
Joe Chambers - Dance Kobina (Blue Note)
"Dance Kobina is an excellently-polished record which incorporates its jazz-adjacent influences with tasteful care, and it certainly helps having a veteran like Joe Chambers masterminding the project."
Johnny Hunter Trio - Divisions (Discus)
"The punches come in thick and fast from this chordless trio as they scrupulously grapple between passages of strong melodic content and free improvisation... [tracing] the line between order and chaos, doing so with remarkable intricacy and feel."
Joshua Jaswon Octet - Polar Waters (Ubuntu)
"Embracing oceanic motifs, the music becomes intertwined with a canny selection of modern poems, this amalgamation of jazz, poetry, and storytelling serving as a testament to Jaswon's commitment to pushing the boundaries of his craft."
Kahlil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Spirit Gatherer: Tribute to Don Cherry (Spiritmuse)
"With the legendary spiritualist Dwight Trible on vocals, the multidirectional objective of this record is clear from the offset — it is at once an evocation of rituals past, as well as a vision of future possibilities."
Lakecia Benjamin - Phoenix (Whirlwind)
"The title of saxophonist and composer Lakecia Benjamin’s album couldn’t be more apt; quite literally rising from the ashes of trauma, her new album finds strength in her recovery."
Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Five: In The Garden (Constellation)
"Weaving spoken word and varieties of disjointed musical smatterings, Roberts triumphantly tackles the saddeningly pertinent theme of reproductive rights... The sheer vitality of this potent sound quilt leaves no doubt as to the many durable talents of this mixed-media artist and much-respected figure of the free jazz scene."
Matthew Halsall - An Ever Changing View (Gondwana)
"It is often the case that new listeners must approach jazz with an alarming deal of good faith if they are to so much as glimpse the woods for the trees. Halsall contradicts all that, offering a much needed antidote of accessibility to the relentlessness of today’s fast-paced world and cultural climate."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Mette Henriette - Drifting (ECM)
"Henriette's sophomore release is a concise effort, further succinctly capturing the cross-disciplinary artist’s talents in one organic blend. Embracing elements of her Sami-Norwegian identity, the ensemble delivers a delicate sense of intensity through its intuitive instrumentation of saxophone, cello and piano."
Orrin Evans - The Red Door (Smoke Sessions)
"Employing a murderers’ row of talent both young and old, the pianist smoothly directs proceedings as he leads through a series of old favourites... A thoroughly enjoyable recording, held together by Evans’ capacity to share the spotlight in a truly welcoming fashion."
Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani - Les Égarés (Nø Førmat!)
"Throughout the set the engineers provide detailed and translucent sonics, with the group nicely positioned within the stereo picture, leaving the listener feeling like they’re sat in front of live musicians."
Tineke Postma - Aria (Edition)
"The players’ tender feel for articulation is never lost, even during the album’s more raucous and heavier numbers. Whilst Postma herself is the only horn player on the record, from the way in which she crafts the expansion of her band's vocalic timbres it’s as if you can sense the ensemble's collective respiration as a whole."
Vijay Iyer, Arooj Aftab & Shazahd Ismaily - Love in Exile (Verve)
The record that took the world by surprise this year, the chilling coalescene of these three musical greats is instantly made apparent through their ability to hold time in their hands as they craft a stunning potion of unhurried spiritual grace.
Walter Smith III - return to casual (Blue Note)
The long-awaited return from the saxophonist here making his label debut here, this elegant recording features a host of charming new arrangements (such as Kate Bush's 'Mother Stands for Comfort') and stunningly adept performances.
Wolfgang Muthspiel - Dance of the Elders (ECM)
"Along with a solid drum and bass backline, the Austrian guitarist’s current trio returns with a solid backline rhythm section that sets up the usual hierarchy of musical teamwork, ie. lead and support, before immediately blurring the distinctions between them."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Archive/Reissue of the Year - Nominees
John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy - Evenings at the Village Gate (Impulse!)
"Two immensely talented multi-instrumentalists, the duo’s cross-disciplinary approach can be felt as they both run riot, tearing up the bandstand in their wake with every opportunity.... Each frontman relishes his chance to lead the dialogue, yet always does so with an outward consideration for the wider conversation taking place."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Joy - Joy (Cadillac)
"The album's persistent energy reminds present-day listeners that the essence of British jazz was neither gone nor forgotten, but rather survived in the hotbed of its own self-renewing capacity, crouching for the employment of those who sought it out."
Sarah Webster Fabio - Jujus/Alchemy of the Blues; Together to the Tune of Coltrane's 'Equinox' (Smithsonian Folkways)
"Even over four decades since her passing, the renowned poet, activist and scholar remains a force to be reckoned with."
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC
Available Formats: Vinyl Record, MP3, FLAC
The Stan Tracey Quartet - Jazz Suite Inspired By Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood (Resteamed)
"The Tracey Quartet’s unsurpassable performance is not so much a sentimental pastiche as it is a practical conversation about the direction in which British jazz at the time was headed."
Available Format: Vinyl Record
Charles Mingus - Changes: The Complete 1970s Atlantic Studio Recordings
"The magnitude of these recordings proves the late genius could be just as demanding as he was in his years of former glory, and in this, his anniversary year, it appears the ‘angry man of jazz’ and his later work are ripe for reappraisal."
Available Formats: 8 Vinyl Records, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Newcomer in Jazz - Nominees
Sultan Stevenson
A prodige of the highly regarded Tomorrow's Warriors programme, this pianist is currently making waves up and down the country. Along with his signature bucket hat, Sultan's keyboard skills are second to none. Just listen to his debut album below (featuring fellow alumnus, Denys Baptiste) to understand why this young musician continues to sell out festivals and gigs wherever he goes.
Emma Rawicz
The name on everybody's lips at the moment, Emma is one of the nation's fastest rising stars, having already featured rapturous acclaim from the likes of Jamie Cullum and Jazzwise Magazine. A natural born performer, she had already become a routine fixture on the bill at Ronnie Scott's by the time her debut album Incantation was released last year. Signing to the ACT label in 2023, Emma's latest record Chroma is also featured in our Jazz Recording of the Year shortlist.
Liam Shortall
Also known as the busiest man in Glasgow, Liam is a talented musician known for his ability to bring together disparate musical ventures across a multitude of genres and styles. His latest and best-known project corto.alto released its debut full-length album this October, much to the delight of his followers. Take a listen to the new album and discover the reason as to why many already regard him as the boy putting Scottish jazz on the map.
Label of the Year - Nominees
Ubuntu Music
From professional young debuts to seasoned international pro's, this label has gained a comfortable reputation as the breeding ground for many a future jazz legend. Since 2015, Ubuntu has been cooking up a regular series of edifying new releases in all shapes and sizes. With its competently guided strategy and ever-expanding artistic vision, you know that with any album cover featuring that lenticular logo, it must be packing some serious heat within its grooves.
Edition Records
Dave Stapleton's label is about as eclectic as they come, with every new release a complete left-turn from the one preceding it. Seemingly on a mission to always outdo itself in terms of creativity, Edition boasts a large roster of international jazz talent from Chris Potter to Lionel Loueke, Miho Hazama to Daniel Herskedal. Each album is a treat to behold, effortlessly going from strength to strength while combining world-class music with top-of the range artwork and imagery. This year, two hot releases from Potter and Tineke Postma are featured amongst our nominees.
Gondwana Records
Matthew Halsall's Manchester-based label has continually been dishing out the goods for nigh on 15 years now, having come to be known as one of the world's most prominent nests for all things 'spiritual jazz'-related. With recent notable signings including Jasmine Myra, Svaneborg Kardyb and Hania Rani (not to mention Matthew himself, who's album An Ever Changing View is nominated above), we simply cannot wait each time a fresh Gondwana release is announced before we get the chance to tune in and bliss out once more.
Be sure to check out the finalists from our other categories including the classical, sheet music and books departments, due to be announced on Thursday 7th December!
Barney Whittaker
