Cecile McLorin Salvant, Ambrose Akinmusire, Mary Halvorson Win JJA Jazz Awards

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Congratulations to Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Mary Halvorson, all of whom have won JJA Jazz Awards!
Cécile McLorin Salvant, won two awards: Female Vocalist of the Year - which she won last year - and, with pianist Sullivan Fortner, Duo of the Year. Salvant is currently up for the Deutscher Jazzpreis for Live Act of the Year International. Last year, she was also named Female Vocalist of the Year in the DownBeat Critics Poll, and her latest album, Mélusine, made the Jazz Albums of the Year list.

Ambrose Akinmusire has won again as Trumpeter of the Year, which he won last year. Akinmusire's latest album, honey from a winter stone, released on Nonesuch in January, features improvisational vocalist Kokayi, pianist Sam Harris, Chiquitamagic on synthesizer, drummer Justin Brown, and the Mivos Quartet. "For arguably the most technically gifted trumpeter of his generation, a lot of Ambrose Akinmusire's breakthroughs actually come from letting go of standards and structures," says the New York Times. "Lately Akinmusire has been making some of the most intimate, spellbinding music of his career."

Mary Halvorson has won again as Guitarist of the Year, which she won last year. Her new album, About Ghosts, due June 13, features eight new compositions Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis: vibraphonist Patricia Brennan (who won the JJA Jazz Award for Mallet Percussionist), bassist Nick Dunston, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, trombonist Jacob Garchik, and trumpeter Adam O'Farrill. Saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins (who won for Alto Saxophonist of the Year) and Brian Settles join the ensemble on five tunes, and Halvorson adds Pocket Piano synthesizer overdubs on a number of tracks.