ni maxine announced as jazz fm's 'breakthrough act of the year' 2025

I couldn't believe it when they called out my name… I just started giggling. I remember going to the last Jazz FM awards, stepping into this new world that felt really strange but exciting, meeting lots of artists who I really looked up to. I thought, then, that it might be nice to win a Jazz FM Award, but had no idea that it would happen so soon.

Being nominated alongside one of my favourite artists and friends, Sultan Stevenson, whose music you should check out, was enough for me, and I would have been happy to see him walk away with the title. We met through working with Tomorrow’s Warriors, and he has become a friend of mine.

Seeing the headline ‘Ezra Collective, Corto.alto and Ni Maxine among 2025 Jazz FM Awards winners’ the following morning really made it feel real, just being put up there with some of the most inspiring artists in the jazz-adjacent space right now, as well as Jalen Ngonda, crowned ‘Soul Act of The Year’, which feels really full-circle. I met Jalen in Liverpool, years ago, and it has been so exciting to witness his rise!

I ask myself, what does winning an award mean and the conclusion I reach, other than the fact that it is something you can include in your bio which makes more people feel excited about you (ha) is that it is a nod from the people who work in the music industry that you’re moving in the right direction. It’s always good to trust the inner voice that tells you that, but it is encouraging, especially when you’re going through a phase (consistently, for me) of doubting yourself and feeling like you might give up.

Anyway, this award sits on my mantlepiece as a reminder to me to carry on, even when things are tough. We’re breaking through! Watch this space!