The nominations for the 2022 All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards have been announced, with two musicians linked to Leeds Conservatoire on the shortlist.
Nikki Iles Jazz Orchestra is nominated for Jazz Ensemble of the Year. Since graduating from the conservatoire, Nikki Iles has maintained a busy performance schedule whilst developing a career as a widely respected educator, including lecturing at the conservatoire, specialising in jazz piano.
Photo credit: Rio Redwood-Sawyer
Jazz Principal Lecturer Nikki Yeoh has been nominated for the Jazz Education Award. Nikki spoke to Music Teacher earlier this year following her appointment at Leeds Conservatoire:
“I haven't been part of a faculty like this before. I come from a working-class background and even for me to do A Levels was seen as unusual. I think lived experience is important for jazz musicians. That said, jazz can be very academic. To transcribe someone's solo, analyse it and incorporate ideas in your own language is complex. You're essentially studying dialects – every jazz musician has their own interpretation. It's the same level of skill that Glenn Gould applied to understanding Bach or Maurizio Pollini has to Beethoven. A microscopic attention to detail and life-long quest is required to find an individual language. Jazz musicians are some of the most studious people you could meet; whether it's from a formal or autodidactic path, we tend to seek further development within the idiom.”
Nikki Yeoh also discussed her career journey to date and thoughts on equality and diversity within the music industry as a panellist at Leeds Conservatoire’s Elevate live panel event on Tuesday 1 February: Music, Equality and Gender: Is It Time for a Different Key Change?
On being nominated for the prestigious Jazz Education Award, alongside Helena Summerfield (Jazz Camp for Girls) and Pete Churchill, she shared:
“It's great that Jazz Education is recognised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG). All the nominees are well deserved of the award and I am delighted to be in such great company.”
The All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards celebrate and recognise the vibrancy, diversity, talent and breadth of the jazz scene throughout the United Kingdom, and the award categories reflect the ever-increasing scope of talent from within the UK’s jazz scene.
Following the online public vote for the Awards, the shortlist was then voted upon by a selection panel, that represent a broad cross-section of backgrounds united in their passion and knowledge of jazz. The winners, chosen by judging members of the APPJAG, will be announced at a ceremony on Tuesday 5 July at PizzaExpress Live, Holborn.
