2017 Jazz Bell Award Winners Unveiled

Melbourne composer, producer and musician Stu Hunter has claimed two titles at the 15th annual Australian Jazz Bell Awards.

Following the release of his latest LP, The Migration, Hunter has collected Best Australian Jazz Song Of The Year for Eagle Fish as well as Best Australian Jazz Ensemble Of The Year.

The 2017 awards ceremony – held at Bird’s Basement in Melbourne – also saw Ted Vining bestowed the prestigious Graeme Bell Hall Of Fame Award and a performance from Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album winner Michelle Nicolle.

“The Bells are 15 years old this year and I’m thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the legacy of the greats that continuously inspires our contemporaries to expand the music and the meaning of jazz in the present,” founder Albert Dadon said.

All winners were determined by a panel revered Australian and international jazz identities and will receive $5,000 each.

The 2017 Jazz Bell Awards winners are:

Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album

Michelle Nicolle - A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing

Best Australian Instrumental Jazz Album

Andrea Keller & Tim Wilson Duo - Consider This

Best Produced Album

 Jeremy Rose & The Earshift Orchestra - Iron In the Blood

Best Australian Jazz Song Of The Year

Stu Hunter - Eagle Fish from the album The Migration

Best Australian Jazz Ensemble Of The Year

Stu Hunter

Young Australian Jazz Artist Of The Year  

Harry Mitchell

Graeme Bell Hall Of Fame Award

Ted Vining