Jazz grumbles

The outside of the Albert Hall might have been a more interesting place to be than the MOBOs inside as jazz fans and musicians protested at the dropping of the jazz category.

Mobo organisers had an explanation, of course:

But organisers of the MOBO awards, set up to celebrate music of a black origin, insisted the decision was purely logistical to fit with the constraints of televising the awards show.

Ah, so that's alright then: it was done to fit the rigorous demands of the BBC 3 schedule - the other logistical solutions, such as shortening the time Gina Yashere was talking, or having fewer "international" awards (which are only designed to try and tempt some a-listers to the prize giving, a bid which flopped quite badly last night) seem to have been ignored.

After all, if you're celebrating the best of British black culture, surely acknowledging a British jazz musician is a better way of doing it than giving a prize to the Black Eyed Peas?

music mobo jazz