Nominations for the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) Jazz Awards are open online. They will remain close until February 26th.
The Awards Ceremony is on Wednesday May 19th.
The nomination form is on the Jazz Services website. FOLLOW THIS LINK
The awards are supported by PPL.
Here’s our post from last year’s winner’s ceremony
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Alyn Shipton has posted this on the BBC Radio 3 jazz message board. I would say Alyn deserves a response!
Far be it from me to criticise, having been nominated last year. But this annual event seems to have one of the least democratic voting systems ever, closely shrouded by PPL and the all party jazz appreciation committee.
Apparently anyone can download the form and nominate / vote for anyone. What safeguards are in place to eliminate rigged votes? And what effort is put into making sure the widest possible constituency vote?
What happens to the nominations when they are received?
Is the eventual shortlist based purely on numerical entries, or is their a nomination committee and if there is, who are they, and what are their qualifications?
The eventual voting is apparently done by the all party jazz appreciation committee. How many of them vote? And what information do they get in order to come to their informed decisions?
None of this is public, and most of it looks (even to relative insiders like me) to be a stitch up.
So, London Jazz, or anyone reading this, especially those who gave the BBC Jazz awards such a hard time on this MB, how democratic are the Parliamentary Jazz awards? Are they as lily white as they should be from the mother of parliaments?
With regard to Alyn Shipton's comments. It is important to remember that these are nominations not votes. All nominations are collated and sifted by a shortlisting panel organised by Jazz Services.The panel members will all be known to Alyn but to save panel members being bombarded with lobbying by nominees, their friends or fans,the panel is kept under wraps. A shortlist, with full information, is submitted to The All Party Jazz Appreciation Group who select the recipient of the award under each category.I am very happy to discuss this with Alyn.Chris Hodgkins. Jazz Services.
Does it really matter who is on the panel, not if you are based outside London it doesn't as you have no hope of winning anything. Does Jazz really stop at the M25?