This year, for the first time, an award for Shortform Online Video of the Year will be among the Jazz Journalist Association’s annual awards for excellence in jazz musicianship and journalism. The ten videos below have been selected as first-round nominees in this category; JJA Professional Journalist members are voting now to choose three videos that will advance into the final round of voting. This award recognizes the excellence of the filmmaker rather than that of the music or musicians serving as subject. The story the video tells, and how well that story is told, is the most important criteria for voting. The Video of the Year will be announced, along with awards winners in more than forty other categories on June 11 at the 2011 JJA Jazz Awards gala at City Winery in New York City. The gala will be live videostreamed with simultaneous satellite parties in many other locales. Ticket information is coming soon. These candidates represent a wide range of subject matter and approaches to portraying jazz.
(If you are a JJA Professional Member be sure to cast your vote before April 17.)
Tough to separate the subject from the journalism, especially with a mesmerizing performer like Stetson, but my top 3 are Robins, Belcham and Primack. The first for reporting on Threadgill's approach to music, the second for showing the creative session of an exploratory artist, and the third for historical perspective.
But they were all good! I have to say that this is a great program to promote jazz / video journalism!!!