The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, BASCA, has announced Barry Guy as a finalist in the new category of contemporary jazz composition for the British Composer Awards for his Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra commission, ‘Schweben: Aye But Can Ye?’

The brief for the commission, premiered at the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music And Drama in March 2009, was to produce a 25-30 minute work suitable for performance in a variety of settings with or without a conductor that took into account the highly individual voices of the members of the orchestra.

The result is a series of interlocking small groups and solo passages inspired by the paintings of Kandinsky and a Translation of a Mayakovsky poem by Scottish poet Edwin Morgan. John Surman and Jason Yarde (pictured) are also nominated for their pieces ‘Rain On The Window’ and ‘Rhythm And Other Fascinations’ respectively.

By including the award BASCA hopes to recognise and encourage the growing number of outstanding jazz composers. “Artists who are both outstanding instrumentalists and whose expressive talent is making fascinating inroads into the composed medium while retaining the instinct for improvisation,” says BASCA’s Sara Rodgers.

The awards ceremony will take place on 1 December at the Law Society, London and include a debut performance of a BBC Radio 3 commission from John Surman.

– Jonathan Dexter

Photo: Tim Dickeson