The MOBO nominations are released tonight. Last year Kairos 4tet was nominated in the best jazz act category, and Empirical and Yolanda Brown are recent winners. It’s a very difficult one to call, and I’ve blogged about this before in connection with the Mercurys.
The four in the frame for me this year are:
Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Truthfully
The cellist vocalist released this EP quietly last year. A rare UK winner at the famed Apollo amateur night in New York where she also spent time as a student at the Manhattan School of Music Witter-Johnson has the ability to cross boundaries with her carefully crafted compositions and thoughtful manner. If the 27-year-old Londoner gets the nomination, it will be for her authenticity and quiet distinctiveness, a quality in short supply for sure.
Femi Temowo
Orin Meta
Just under a year ago guitarist Femi Temowo launched his second album Orin Meta in the unusual surroundings of Under The Bridge, the venue beneath the Shed End of Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge home, Best known for his work with Soweto Kinch who also appears on the album among a large cast of musicians and singers the British Nigerian surely has an original guitar approach, marking him out as a new jazz guitar star having absorbed his influences and come up with something new, honed in the past by performing with Soweto Kinch in the early J-Noir promoted days of Kinch’s career at gigs in the West End around 2003, and as a leader with his partly realised debut album Quiet Storm already under his belt released five years ago. He could well be on the MOBO radar this year.
Zara McFarlane
Until Tomorrow
Released on Gilles Peterson’s label last year this took a while to grow but with a confident live performance and interesting, emotive songs blessed with unusual harmonies and a refreshing approach McFarlane (pictured, top) made a lot of fans with this album. It’s a long way since she was a vocalist with Jazz Jamaica, but even then when she sang on Stevie Wonder’s ‘My Cherie Amour’ it was clear she had a big talent that has now come to fruition. Zara would be a popular choice.
Zoe Rahman
Kindred Spirits
Zoe has won a Mercury nomination in the past and at the beginning of her career a Perrier, so she’s no stranger to awards. Very experienced, an unusual pianist in that her key jazz influence was Joanne Brackeen, and she merges music from her Bengali heritage and even Irish heritage on this her latest album. Touring with Courtney Pine and Spatial AKA has added to her range and stagecraft, and her inclusion on the MOBO list of nominations would be a shrewd and knowledgeable choice.
Let’s see who’s on the list. From 8pm #mobo on Twitter and over at mobo.com
Stephen Graham
UPDATE: All the above were indeed nominated plus Roller Trio