SUPPORTING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUTSTANDING YOUNG FEMALE AND GENDER DIVERSE JAZZ MUSICIANS
The Jann Rutherford Memorial Award was founded in 2005 to assist in the professional development of an outstanding young female and gender diverse jazz musician. The Award is named in honour of the late jazz pianist Jann Rutherford, and is funded by private donations in partnership with the Mietta Foundation, Melbourne International Women's Jazz Festival (MIWJF), Sydney Improvised Music Association (SIMA) and ABC Jazz.
2025 JRMA winner - Lauren Tsamouras
The Jann Rutherford Memorial Award is delighted to announce pianist, composer and improviser Lauren Tsamouras as the recipient of the 2025 award.
Based in Sydney/Warrang, Lauren has been an active contributor to the Australian jazz community for the past eight years, performing with artists including Hannah James (2011 JRMA winner and leader of Pharos), Matt Ottignon, Hinano Fujisaki and Clayton Thomas, and leading her own contemporary jazz duo, Another Green World, alongside bassist Harry Birch.
With the support of JRMA, Lauren will develop and record a second album of original compositions, tour regionally in NSW, and undertake professional development in Greece. Her plans include collaborating with Greek musicians, incorporating traditional instruments and scales, and strengthening ties between Australian and Greek jazz communities.
Image credit: Anne Peeters Photography
JANN RUTHERFORD
Jann Rutherford, the jazz pianist, composer, teacher and poet who had been a prominent and unique musical force in Australia and New Zealand, died of cancer at the age of 38. Her fight with the cancer diagnosed on her tongue and lymph gland was the final chapter in a life studded with a bravery that bordered on heroism, although Rutherford herself would have been quick to dismiss such an assertion.
Blind from birth, she pursued the zero-security, artistically high-risk career of the jazz musician, moved by herself from New Zealand to Sydney to further this career, eked out a living and confronted her cancer and its treatment with typical optimism and courage.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Trombonist: Alex Silver, Guitarist: Jess Green, Drummer: Ali Foster, Bassist: Hannah James, Saxophonist: Harriet Harding & bassist: Jessica Dunn*(The JRMA award facilitated the creation of Sirens Big Band), Trumpeter: Ellen Kirkwood, Drummer :Jodie Michael Pianist :Emma Grace Stephenson, Guitarist: Hilary Geddes, Guitarist, Lucy Gifford
