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British Jazz Awards 2019

Tue 1 October 2019

Two current students have been nominated at this year’s awards alongside staff and alumni

The British Jazz Awards are the UK’s longest-running awards recognising the best jazz musicians, bands and album releases.

Nominations are chosen by a carefully selected panel of leading from across the jazz community, with the final category winners being decided by public vote.

This year, current Trinity Laban jazz students Xhosa Cole and Harrison Dolphin have both been nominated for the Rising Star Award.

No stranger to prizes, third-year saxophonist Xhosa was the winner of BBC Young Jazz Musician 2018. Over the last few years he has performed with groups such as the Jazzlines Ensemble and his own quartet, the CharCole Collective, which performs music exploring Birmingham’s cultural history. As well as being a saxophonist, Handsworth-born Xhosa is a flautist and composer, and has written works for the Ideas of Noise Festival and the For Wards project.

First year undergraduate Harrison is inspired by artists including Bud Powell and Charlie Parker, and transfers the language of bebop piano to the guitar. Before enrolling at Trinity Laban last month, Harrison was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra Academy Big Band and National Youth Jazz Choir.

Nominated for Best Small Group are Ezra Collective, an ensemble that includes alumni Dylan Jones (trumpet), Femi Koleoso (drums) and Joe Armon Jones (keys), whilst 2009 graduate Leo Richardson is nominated in the Tenor Sax category and professorial staff member Dominic Ashworth is nominated for Jazz Guitar.

Online voting is now open and closes on 28 October. Find out more and cast your vote on the award’s website

Want to learn more about jazz at Trinity Laban? Visit our Jazz pages

Image: Xhosha Cole (credit Ian Davies)