Jazz pianist Barney McAll wins best album, song at Bell awards

The prolific pianist and composer returned to Australia last year to take up the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Residency.

Barney McAll’s award-winning album Mooroolbark is a tribute to the suburb where he grew up in Melbourne.

It’s been a big year for Barney McAll. After almost two decades in New York, the prolific pianist and composer returned to Australia last year to take up the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Residency in Sydney. He also launched Mooroolbark, a tribute to the suburb where he grew up in Melbourne.

Fresh from winning best jazz album at the ARIA awards, Moo­roolbark was named best Australian instrumental jazz album last night at the Bell awards, the ­nation’s leading jazz awards.

McAll also won the award for best Australian jazz song of the year with Nectar Spur from Moo­roolbark.

Among the groups, the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra was named best jazz ensemble while best small band went to the Allan Browne Quintet.

Pianist Mike Nock and drummer Laurence Pike travelled to Oslo to record with renowned ­engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug, and the work they brought home with them, Beginning And End of Knowing, was named best produced album last night.

Kristin Berardi won best vocal album for Where Or When, while Olivia Chindamo was named young jazz artist of the year.

Her father, pianist Joe Chindamo, was inducted into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame, joining the likes of James Morrison, Tony Gould, Mike Nock, Don Burrows and Allan Browne.

While best known as a jazz artist, Chindamo has been spreading his wings in recent times, performing a variation on Bach’s Goldberg Variations last year at New York’s Carnegie Hall with partner violinist Zoe Black.

Now in its 14th year, the Bell awards ceremony took place at Bird’s Basement in Melbourne. Judges included Albert Dadon, Wangaratta Jazz Festival artistic director Adrian Jackson, Melbourne Jazz Co-operative founder Martin Jackson, radio presenter Gerry Koster and The Australian’s jazz critic John McBeath.