The Branford Marsalis Quartet & Kurt Elling win the 2017 ECHO Jazz Prize for International Ensemble of the Year
The Branford Marsalis Quartet with special guest Kurt Elling have been awarded the ECHO Jazz Prize 2017 as International Ensemble of the Year for their 2016 album, Upward Spiral (OKeh Records)!
The ECHO Jazz Prize is the German equivalent of the Grammy.
Branford Marsalis was also nominated for International Instrumentalist of the Year – Saxophones/Woodwinds for Upward Spiral.
The 2017 ECHO Jazz Prizes were awarded in 21 categories for albums released between October 31, 2015 and November 1, 2016 which also received at least two outstanding reviews from music journalists. Winners were selected by twelve jurors from the music industry whose judgment was based especially on artistic criteria, but which also took into account commercial success and appreciation by jazz fans.
The ECHO is an established and well-known music award presented by the German Phono Academy, the cultural arm of the Music Industry Association, honoring outstanding achievements and successful national and international artists. The ECHO Klassik Prize was first awarded in 1994, and the Jazz Prize was added in 2010.
Kurt also received the ECHO Jazz Prize for Male Vocalist of the Year in 2012 for his 2011 recording, The Gate.
This year's awards ceremony will take place on June 1, 2017 at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany.
Many congratulations to Kurt, the members of the Branford Marsalis Quartet – Branford Marsalis, saxophones; Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; and Justin Faulkner, drums – and to all of this year's winners!