NEWS

wall2wall Jazz Programme

25th to 27th September 2026
An exciting programme at The Melville Centre

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Community Sunday – Free music across Abergavenny

Please use this link for detail

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BMJ Headliners Feature Nominees for Jazz Awards

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Black Mountain Jazz is bathing in the reflected glory of having no fewer than seven jazz musicians who have appeared at the Melville - or will appear soon - in the nominations for this year’s All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Group Awards (APPJG).

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The club already attracts regular attention of The Jazz Mann (critic Ian Mann), who won the APPJG Media award a couple of years ago.

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The 2026 nominees with links to BMJ in various categories are singers Marvin Muoneké and Sylvie Noble, pianists Joe Webb and Fergus McCreadie, bassist Ursula Harrison, saxophonist Iain Ballamy and trumpeter Olivia Cuttill.

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This list demonstrates how much Black Mountain Jazz is at the sharp end of the best in current UK jazz activity. Olivia Cuthill, already an award-winner, will appear at BMJ’s wall2wall Festival on Saturday September 26.

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Ever since the celebrated Tory politician Kenneth Clarke, now Lord Clarke, was to be seen regularly at Ronnie Scotts and other jazz venues, interest in jazz among members of the Commons and Lords has been such that the APPJG awards have become a viable and important annual event.

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The awards are supported by the Musicians Union, the Royal Society of Musicians and UK Music. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, 13 October.

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Award categories reflect the ever-increasing scope of talent from within the UK’s jazz Scene - Jazz Vocalist of the Year; Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year; Jazz Album of the Year; Jazz Ensemble of the Year; Jazz Newcomer of the Year; Jazz Venue of the Year; Jazz Media Award; Jazz Education Award; and the Services to Jazz Award.

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Dame Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of the APPJG, said “These awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the talents and energies of the great musicians, educators, promoters, record labels, jazz organisations, blogs, jazz magazines and journalists who help keep jazz flourishing.”

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Naomi Pohl, general secretary of the MU, said: “This year’s short-list showcases the phenomenal jazz talent thriving across the UK, as well as the vibrant communities that support them in every nation and region. Congratulations to all the nominees on their well-deserved recognition. Furthermore the MU is pleased to support the new award for music hubs at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Music hubs play a crucial role in the development of young talent and it is fantastic to see this work formally recognised”.

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Nigel Jarrett
National jazz reviewer