The Australian Jazz Bell Awards celebrated its 10th anniversary with a gala dinner and awards ceremony last night at Melbourne’s Plaza Ballroom.
Graeme Bell. photo by Ros O'Gorman
The event was hosted by Tracy Curro in the presence of Victoria’s Lead of the Opposition, the Hon. Daniel Andrews MP and Senator Stephen Conroy.
Senator Conroy inducted Brian Brown into the Australian Jazz Hall of Fame.
Albert Dadon AM, Chairman of the Jazz Bell Awards said, “It is exciting to see the awards getting bigger and better every year. We have amazing jazz talent in Australia and we are privileged to have the Jazz Bell Awards to pay tribute to that talent. We congratulate all this year’s winners.”
Albert founded the awards in 2003 and named them in honor of Australian Jazz great Graeme Bell, who he referred to as “Australia’s Sachmo’. Graeme, who is now 97 years-old, could not travel to Melbourne for the awards but send a video greeting from his Sydney home.
The 2012 Australian Jazz Bell Award winners are:
Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album
Kristin Berardi Meets The Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra
Most Original Australian Jazz Album
Peter Knight, Fish Boast of Fishing
Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album
Nick Haywood Quartet, 1234
Best Australian Traditional Jazz Album
Allan Browne, Collected Works Volume II: Fifty Years of New Orleans Jazz
Best Australian Jazz Song of the Year
Luke Howard & Janos Bruneel, “Spir”, Open Road
Best Australian Jazz Ensemble
Andrea Keller Quartet
The Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year
Alex Boneham
