The juries of the German Jazz Prize determine the nominees and award winners in a transparent and independent process. The selection of the winners takes place in a two-stage process. First, from all applications and suggestions of the jury members, four deserving artists or projects are nominated for each award category. This is done by the expert jury, if not separately determined for the prize category. In a second step, the main jury for each prize category selects the award winner of the award category from the four nominees. The juries are appointed by Initiative Musik in coordination with the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), based on a proposal from the advisory board. As a rule, jury members of both the expert jury and the main jury are appointed for two years. More information on the composition of the main and expert juries can be found below. All former jury members can be found here.
MAIN JURY
The main jury is made up of a total of 10 representatives of the 5 expert juries as well as 7 other members who are outstanding and recognized personalities of cultural public life with an affinity for jazz. The main jury determines the winners of the German Jazz Prize from the four nominated artists and performances in an award category. The members of the main jury for the fifth edition will be announced once the selection process for nominees and award winners is completed in early 2025.
EXPERT JURY
The expert jury of the German Jazz Prize is composed of a total of 25 personalities from the field of jazz and improvised music. In order to reflect all perspectives of this lively and multifaceted music scene, the jury is formed as a representative cross-section of five people from each of the following areas: Artists, labels/publishers, clubs/festivals, management/agencies and journalists/media representatives. The expert jury determines the nominees of an edition, independently, expertly and in a dynamic dialog.
Label Owner (enja & yellowbird records)
Musician, Author
Artist Manager, Tour Agent, Label
Musician, Composer, Educator
Music Journalist, Curator, Author, Presenter
Curator jazzwerkstatt Peitz & jazzexzess
Journalist, Author (ZEIT, Tagesspiegel, Taz, Jazzthing), Lecturer (Columbia University, HCA), Curator, Publicist
Musician and Producer, Co-Founder of Squama Recordings
President of August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Founder/Director of Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival
Label Manager, Producer, Vocalist
Musician and Curator for XJAZZ! Festival
Managing Director of XJAZZ! Festival
Intakt Records, Director of Taktlos Festival, Association Friends of Irène Schweizer
Creative Director, Producer & Cultural Curator
Music Journalist, Author, University Lecturer
Artist Manager, President and Founder, 24 Seven Artist Development
Saxophonist, Composer, Producer
Journalist and Broadcaster
Writer, Artistic Director Jazz Maastricht/Music Meeting Festival, Advisor Dutch Performing Arts Fund, Confidential Counsellor
Pianist, Educator
Cultural Manager, Dramaturg, Translator, Jazz Advisour at Goethe-Institute Head Office
PR Consultant, Owner of the Agency der Promotor
Drummer and Producer
Co-Artistic Director of the Südtirol Jazzfestival Alto Adige and Artistic Director of the Jazz Program at Dekadenz Brixen
Dramaturgy and Project Development at Monheimer Kulturwerke GmbH
SPECIAL JURY
This year, for the first time, a five-member special jury will select the four nominees as well as the prize winner in the category Composition/Arrangement.
Pianist, Eb Horn Player, Composer, Educator and Professor of Jazz at Bern University of the Arts
Saxophonist & Composer
Flutist, Composer and Artistic Director of Orchestre National de Jazz
Drummer, Composer, Arranger
Musician (Woodwind Instruments) and Composer
The jury statutes of the German Jazz Prize can be found here.