Yazmin Lacey - Interview (Jazz FM Awards Nominee)
Picture Credit: Imo Eason
The nominees for the 2026 Jazz FM Awards have been announced, offering a strong snapshot of a genre that continues to expand its reach and influence.
Returning to KOKO in London on April 16th, the ceremony will once again bring together a mix of emerging talent and globally recognised names across jazz, soul and blues.
This year’s list features UK innovators Ezra Collective alongside genre blurring star RAYE and soul icon Mavis Staples. They are joined by leading voices including Samara Joy, Emma-Jean Thackray, Omar, Shabaka Hutchings, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Snarky Puppy.
Public voting will once again decide Album of the Year and UK Jazz Act of the Year, with nominees including Ambrose Akinmusire, Fergus McCreadie, Kokoroko and Tom Skinner.
What stands out is how far jazz now reaches. As Jazz FM’s Nick Pitts notes, the genre is not only evolving creatively but increasingly shaping the mainstream, with artists like Ezra Collective and RAYE leading that shift.
Since launching in 2013, the Jazz FM Awards have become a key date in the calendar, celebrating legends such as Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones while continuing to spotlight new talent.
With special awards still to be revealed, this year’s event looks set to underline just how vital jazz remains today.
Yazmin Lacey who is nominated for Vocalist of the Year in the Jazz FM awards sat down with Wordplay Magazine to chat about everything music:
1. You must be so excited to be nominated for the Vocalist of the Year award at the Jazz FM Awards 2026 — how does it feel to see your name alongside such incredible artists in that category?
Honestly, I feel so happy to be recognised for my voice, it’s so special!
2. Casting your mind back to your debut album Voice Notes, you had a track called Legacy — almost prophetic in hindsight. As someone who is increasingly being spoken about as a defining voice in British jazz, how does it feel to be building that legacy in real time?
I think when I wrote legacy, I was thinking about it on a more personal scale. I look back at the line of incredible women that I’ve come from, that surround me, that have raised me and that song was also about singing their legacy. I wrote it for my nan. Sometimes I think about how proud she would be and how the women after her have used their strength and power, and I suppose singing and writing songs is my way of carrying that on.
3. Voice Notes and Teal Dreams were made with different producers and composers yet both feel completely and unmistakably you. Do you have a favourite collaborator you've worked with so far, and what made that partnership so special?
I have been incredibly lucky to have worked with such talented, warm and encouraging producers, artists, instrumentalists, and songwriters. Those relationships have nurtured me and I'm also really proud to call those people my friends. No favourites as each one brings something so unique! I feel that me and Dave Okumu made a very special bond, making my first album he really hand-held me through that process especially as I took ages to write it! And I would even speak to him for advice when making my second. Also Melo-Zed and I have now been creating together for like 6 years.
4. If you could collaborate with any jazz artist, living or from any point in history, who would it be and what do you think that conversation between you both might sound like musically?
Billie all day long! I’d be quite nervous to be honest, but that’s a voice of a lifetime! And for now, I think Kokoroko they’re making undeniably good forever classics!
5. The world feels particularly heavy right now — politically, emotionally, collectively. Yet music like Sea Glass and some of your earlier work has this almost transportive quality, like it can lift you completely out of the noise and carry you somewhere quieter and safer. Does that weight of the world seep into your creative process, or do you see your music as a deliberate escape from it — for yourself as much as your listeners?
I think being in the studio has always been an escape for me especially in those earlier works, because I had to grab and steal time to create back then. I think that music has this transformative and healing power to change emotions and make sense of them. It’s a universal language and I think it brings people comfort and I hope that’s what my music does for some people. When I listen to my favourite songs, that’s what it does for me.
Picture Credit: Imo Eason
6. Jazz FM's Nick Pitts said the nominees this year reflect how jazz has not only continued to innovate but has genuinely influenced the mainstream. As someone right at the heart of that movement — who in today's jazz landscape are you most excited by or losing yourself in right now?
I really loved that last Venna record - stunning! And I am mesmerised by Anaiis voice - what an angel.
7. I read that you're part Antiguan — my dad is Antiguan too! Between your Antiguan and Bequian roots, how do you feel that heritage shapes the music you make? I feel like I can hear those influences coming through in songs like Tomorrow’s Child and Wallpaper, which I love.
Yes, my fellow Antiguan! Small island gang! Absolutely sounds from my heritage is what I call my DNA music you know, I think it’s just in me and it’s important for me to reflect that because it’s part of the story of who I am! I just love it and i want to continue taking parts of that and making it my own.
8. Awards like the Jazz FM Awards feel increasingly vital — not just as celebrations but as a way of shining a light on artists who might otherwise fly under the radar. What does recognition like this mean to you personally, and why do you think events like this matter for the health of the genre?
This is so important, you know it keeps the genre alive and shines a light on parts of the music industry that could be overlooked otherwise. For me personally, it’s a huge honour to be nominated because my voice is raw untrained. I learnt to sing purely from the need to express myself, and the fact that I am here being nominated is incredible and actually makes me feel quite emotional from where I started out, maybe it will encourage people to express themselves too.
9. You have a very distinct visual and artistic identity alongside your music. How important is it to you that the two feel cohesive — that people experience Yazmin Lacey as a whole world rather than just a sound?
Thanks so much - I hope people get into the world, I think it’s really important to express yourself at full beam and so that’s more than just the music! And in recent years it’s been a lot of fun to play around with that but always crucial to lead with the music first!
10. The Jazz FM Awards have honoured legends like Jools Holland, Quincy Jones and Mavis Staples over the years. Is there a moment from jazz history — a performance, a record, an era — that you wish you could have been present for?
Nina Simone! What I wouldn’t do to have a glass of wine and cigarette and watch her perform -it could be any song! Her voice, her expression is piercing one of one for real!!!
Interview: Kanika Phillip
