BBC Radio Jazz Awards, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

It's good to be appreciated

The second BBC Radio jazz awards went off much more smoothly than last year's event, at which Courtney Pine looked as though he was about to boil over during the winners' jam session with the BBC Big Band.

This year, Pine was the presenter, along with Jools Holland, and what a well-mannered chap he can be when he wants to. There was the odd glitch, but he and Holland managed the job of introducing, in a suitably relaxed way, a series of big-name presenters, including the actor Denis Lawson, the former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke, Clive James, Moira Stuart, Mark Knopfler and Sue Mingus. Even if all that those presenters had to do was to say a few kind words and then hand over a trophy, their presence was important. It does jazz people good to feel that the famous know about and appreciate the music.

Highlights of the night included Hugh Masekela (best international artist) performing with the Jazz Jamaica All Stars (best band). This stellar ensemble, a virtual Who's Who of the top players under 40, caught the lazy swing of Masekela's "Mamoshaba", his luscious-toned flugelhorn floating over the top. He was a bit sharp, but it didn't really matter.

Chris Barber, who took the heritage award, could well have won some converts to his brand of Thirties swing, so convincing and full of verve was his biggish band. And John Taylor, whose Green Man Suite won the best new work category, had the hall entranced. He plucked the strings of his piano and beat on its wooden frame before taking to the keyboard in a remarkable duet with the tuba-player Oren Marshall.

The shortlists for the awards contained few surprises, and at the party afterward there were those who complained about a lack of imagination. The vocal category, in particular, showed how stuck-in-a-rut a large section of British jazz is. But Stan Tracey and John Taylor thoroughly deserved their prizes, and the Jazz Jamaica All Stars showed that there's hardly a big band to touch them in this country, with a superb, punchy, semi-Latino version of "Light My Fire". Brian Kellock's award for best album should also shine some much-needed light on the Edinburgh jazz scene, out of which is coming music of tremendous vitality.

We had some good jokes, mainly of the dry variety. "When I picked up the alto sax," said Clive James, "they'd mention Johnny Hodges and Paul Desmond. Trouble was, they'd keep mentioning them until I put it down." John Surman, winner of the best instrumentalist award, claimed he chose to play the baritone sax after seeing an alto and a bari being sold in a shop for the same price – he thought he'd get more for his money with the latter.

There is always room for improvement, but the consensus was that the BBC produced a much better show this year. To be fair, maybe such an awards ceremony is never going to reward the cutting edge. And if it raises the profile of jazz in this country, perhaps we should just be grateful for that.