Last night in the Attlee Room of Portcullis House in Westminster the winners of the Parliamentary Jazz Scholarships were presented with their scholarships and performed in front of an audience which included parliamentarians and jazz industry figures.

Launched three years ago the scholarships are for £1,000 to each winner plus inclusion on the Yamaha New Jazz Sessions CD to be covermounted on the December /January issue of Jazzwise later this year, as well as gigs to be scheduled at leading London jazz clubs including the 606 club and the new Hideaway club that opened earlier this year in Streatham.

The winners were announced by radio presenter Helen Mayhew of Jazz FM. They were: Andrew Linham, saxophone, Leeds College of Music; Chris Gilligan, piano, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; David Hamblett, drums, Royal Academy of Music; Dougie Freeman, piano, Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Lluis Mather, saxophone, Birmingham Conservatoire; and Peter Randall, double bass, Trinity College of Music London. The jazz scholars performed a number of songs including ‘You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To’ and original composition ‘Etched Dreams.’

The evening held in association with PPL and Jazzwise was hosted by Michael Connarty MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk in his role as co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group who introduced the evening. The Scottish quartet Brass Jaw played an opening set featuring songs including Horace Silver’s 'Senor Blues’ and Bobby Hebb’s ‘Sunny’ before the scholarships were presented.

Speeches were also made by Mike Ketley, senior director of Yamaha Music UK; Bill Martin, music education manager of Yamaha Music Europe; and Dominic McGonigal, director of government relations at music royalties collection company PPL. The Yamaha Jazz Experience, a jazz ensemble competition for 11-18 year olds, was also confirmed by Yamaha to take place again next year following its launch in 2009.

– Stephen Graham