The Australian Jazz Bell Awards have added a new category for ‘Most Original Australian Jazz Album’.
Julia Gillard at the Bell Awards. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
The new award is designed to reward original music composed by the artists performing on the nominated album with a high level of originality in the sound/concept of the music presented.
The Bells is a unique Australian music award catering solely for Jazz Music that is generally given just one category in other awards programs.
The patron of the awards is Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. “The Awards have grown in prestige over the years with Prime Minister Julia Gillard having inducted two Hall of Fame winners in two consecutive years. The National Awards set the tone for Excellence in Australian Jazz,” awards founder Albert Dadon said in a statement.
The Bells is named after one of Australia’s greatest jazz musicians Graeme Bell.
Nominations for the Bells are now open.
The Awards categories which share a prize pool of $40,000 – $5,000 per category – are:
• Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album
• Most Original Australian Jazz Album – new category
• Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album
• Best Australian Traditional Jazz Album
• Best Australian Jazz Song of the Year
• Best Australian Jazz Ensemble
• Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year
• Graeme Bell Hall of Fame – in recognition of an outstanding career
You can download the nomination form at www.bellawards.org
