ABOUT THE NATIONAL JAZZ AWARDS

The 2007 National Jazz Awards: A Tribute to the Giants of Canadian Jazz
Music enthusiasts encouraged to vote and support nominees

Toronto, February 15th, 2007 – Canadian jazz artists, festival organizers, journalists, broadcasters and enthusiasts will gather to pay tribute to their own at the 2007 National Jazz Awards on April 10, 2007.

Celebrating its sixth anniversary, the National Jazz Awards, presented by Galaxie, CBC’s continuous music network, recognizes contributions to jazz excellence in Canada. The nominees selected by a committee of industry leaders honour outstanding Canadian achievements.

Jazz fans across Canada are encouraged to visit www.nationaljazzawards.com before the midnight, March 25, 2007 deadline to cast their vote for their favourite nominee in 27 different categories including: Jazz Journalist of the Year; Jazz Broadcaster of the Year; Jazz Producer of the Year and International Musician of the Year. Also among this year’s recognitions will be the Paul Hoeffler Jazz Photographer of the Year Award and the introduction of a new award, Male Jazz Vocalist of the Year. Please visit ftp://tor.ddb.ca to download the category and nominees listing. Username: nationaljazzawards, password: nationaljazzawards.

The National Jazz Awards Canada was created by pianist, composer and publisher Bill King, in an effort to fill the void in the jazz continuum. Committee members include Downtown Jazz’s Pat Taylor (Executive Producer), Kris King (Administrator), Hal Hill (Nominations and Voting), JVC Jazz Festival Director Sybil Walker (Event Design) and Justin Time’s Jim West (Consultant).

"Now, more than ever, Canadian Jazz artists have an enormous influence on the world stage and are contributing greatly to the genre", says Bill King. "The National Jazz Awards were created to honour these achievements at home."

The National Jazz Awards winners, chosen by the public via a national on-line voting system will be honoured at an exclusive gala taking place at Toronto’s Palais Royale. Hosted by songstress extraordinaire Dione Taylor and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee David Clayton Thomas, this year’s theme will be Giants of Canadian Jazz and will be celebrated via a host of activities and entertainment.

The Hugh Fraser Band will complement a multitude of talented performers including the Oliver Jones Trio; vibraphonist Peter Appleyard; vocalists Sophie Berkal-Sarbit and Holly Cole; saxophonists Jim Galloway and John Nugent; the PJ Perry Quartet and Guido Basso and the Mike Murley 3 .

The National Jazz Awards will take place on Tuesday April 10, 2007 at the Palais Royale Ballroom, located at 1601 Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto. Dinner reservations can be booked prior to the awards by contacting the venue directly at (416) 533-3553. Please ask for Nanci Malek. Dinner begins at 6 pm (Price N/A). General Admission tickets are $75.00. Tickets are available by calling TicketMaster at (416) 870-8000 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. The show begins at 8 pm. All ticket holders will be eligible to win a trip for two to the 2008 Barbados Jazz Festival - accomodations provided by the beautiful Bougainvillea Beach Resort. Winners will be drawn the night of event.