ECHO Jazz awards conferred in Hamburg

German jazz musicians including trumpet player Till Brönner, pianist Joachim Kühn and singer and guitarist Peter Fessler were honored with ECHO Jazz awards this year at a ceremony held Thursday (22.04.2014) in Hamburg. Stars from the US such as vocalist Gregory Porter and Pat Metheny also received ECHO Jazz trophies, which were handed out for the fifth time on May 22 in Hamburg.

Serbian trumpeter Dusko Gojkovic (82) took home the Lifetime Achievement Award for his creative efforts that the jury praised as follows: "As a composer and as an instrumentalist, Dusko Gojkovic understands the art of conveying complexity with a magical lightness that emphasizes variety, immediacy and expressivity."

Further prize-winners include saxophonist Heinz Sauer and pianist Michael Wollny, who in their duo formation were named German Ensemble of the Year. An award for the Bestseller of the last 12 months went to Dutch songstress Caro Emerald for her May 2013 release, "The Shocking Miss Emerald." The American musician Joshua Redman played last year's ECHO Jazz gala, and this time around, chalked up a win in the Best International Saxophonist category. The jury also honored British musician Dave Holland in the category Best International Bass or Bass Guitarist.

Newcomer of the Year went to the German singer, guitarist and big band leader Monika Roscher. She founded the Monika Roscher Bigband in 2010 at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich.

The ECHO Jazz awards are conferred by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie, a German cultural institution associated with the National Music Industry Association. The organization has handed out the ECHO Music awards annually since 1992 and the ECHO Classic awards since 1994. The ECHO Jazz prizes are the latest addition, having launched in 2010.

pz/gsw/rf (dpa)