David Bowden. Photo from Scottish Jazz Federation

The winner of the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year competition is bassist David Bowden. 

David Bowden is originally from London and moved to Scotland in 2011 to study at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He graduated with a first in 2015 and remains based in Glasgow. He is also a Yamaha Jazz scholar, and was interviewed for us by Alison Bentley last October. He was chosen as one of the “30 Under 30” to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Glasgow Festival. He is also a member of Square One (album review by Adrian Pallant), Peter Whittingham Jazz Award winners in 2015.

The other four finalists were

Fergus McCreadie – piano
Stephen Henderson – drums
Joe Williamson – guitar
Conor Murray – bass

The final on February 1st 2017, produced by the Scottish Jazz Federation, was held at the Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow as part of Celtic Connections festival. The final was recorded by BBC Radio Scotland and will be broadcast on Weds February 8th, and be available on the BBC website HERE