The BBC Jazz Awards nominations were announced yesterday at London jazz club Ronnie Scott's -- and the event was spiced up with performances from top-selling stars Jamie Cullum and Gwyneth Herbert.

The awards themselves will be presented at London's Mermaid Theatre, on July 2.

BBC Radios 2 and 3 are celebrating the burgeoning jazz scene in this, their eagerly anticipated 5th annual award ceremony.

Last year's awards boasted a stunning duet between winner of Best Band and Best Instrumentalist Soweto Kinch and the jazz icon Wynton Marsalis who bagged the International Artist award.

The listeners of BBC Radio 2 will decide the nominations for the BBC Radio 3 Jazz On 3 Innovation Award, and BBC Radio 3 Jazz Line-Up Jazz Album of the Year, BBC Radio 2 Best of Jazz Award and the BBC Radio 2 Jazz Artist of the Year in a new combined online and phone poll.

Meanwhile, here are the rest of the nominees...

Radio 2 Jazz Artist of the Year:
An artist or group who has done most to further the cause of 'popular' jazz-making on both Radio 2 and on the wider jazz stage.

Nominations:

• Clare Teal


• Jamie Cullum


• Ray Gelato

The Best of Jazz Award:
An artist or group playing in an accessible style who continue to find inspiration in familiar harmonies, melodies and styles as found, for example in, mainstream, swing, bop and traditional jazz amongst others, and who have kept the music at the forefront of public attention.

Nominations:

• Paul Adams and Lake Records for their Record Supervision series originally produced by Denis Preston.


• Liane Carroll


• Michael Garrick

Radio 3 Jazz Line-Up Award for Jazz Album of the Year:
For the new Jazz album, released April 04 to March 05, judged most likely to stay on the turntables for a long time.
Nominations:

• Acoustic Ladyland - Camouflage (Babel)


• Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble - Rearranging the 20th Century (Enja)


• Tony Kofi Quartet - All Is Know (Specific Jazz)

Jazz on 3 Award for Innovation or Achievement in New Music:
An artist who has made an outstanding contribution to reinventing and refreshing jazz music today.
Nominations:

• Evan Parker


• Jason Yarde


• Huw Warren

To decide the other awards, nomination forms for this year's event were sent to 100 of the most influential members of the UK music industry.

The award categories and nominations are:

BEST BAND
Nominations:

• Acoustic Ladyland


• Polar Bear


• Abram Wilson Group

RISING STAR
Nominations:

• Gwilym Simcock


• Ingrid Laubrock


• Gwyneth Herbert

BEST INSTRUMENTALIST
Nominations:

• Peter King


• Jim Mullen


• Mark Nightingale

BEST VOCALIST
Nominations:

• Liane Carroll


• Tina May


• Clare Teal

For more information check out BBC Radio 2 Online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2 and BBC Radio 3 Online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3 and the BBC Jazz Awards site at www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazzawards2005