Congratulations to Ambrose Akinmusire and Cécile McLorin Salvant, who have both been nominated for Jazz FM Awards for Album of the Year for their latest releases, honey from a winter stone and Oh Snap, respectively. This is a public vote category, so head to jazzfmawards.com now to have your say. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Koko in London on April 16.

Composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s album honey from a winter stone, which he calls a “self-portrait,” was released on Nonesuch in January 2025. It features improvisational vocalist Kokayi, pianist Sam Harris, Chiquitamagic on synthesizer, drummer Justin Brown, and the Mivos Quartet. “For arguably the most technically gifted trumpeter of his generation, a lot of Ambrose Akinmusire’s breakthroughs actually come from letting go of standards and structures," says the New York Times. "Lately Akinmusire has been making some of the most intimate, spellbinding music of his career.” The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album and made the Francis Davis Jazz Poll for New Jazz Albums.

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Oh Snap, released on Nonesuch in September, comprises 12 very personal songs by the singer/composer (plus a cover of a verse from the Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House”) mostly recorded outside of a traditional studio environment. The songs showcase her genre-spanning tastes and influences from her 1990s childhood in Miami—from boy bands to grunge to classical to folk—and include party tracks with beats, samba grooves, and quiet folk songs. The album features longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, plus cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis. Oh Snap made year’s best lists from Slate and Jazzwise and landed on the Francis Davis Jazz Poll for New Jazz Albums, topping the poll for Vocal Jazz Albums.