The CEA Awards - Cincinnati's appreciation to tri-state musicians

Cincinnati has an impressive number of bands and groups, covering many genres, that perform all over the tri-state. In addition to bars and restaurants who feature live music, there are various events that take place providing musicians with more opportunity to increase their visibility and notoriety. Such events include Oktoberfest, MidPoint Music Festival, and The World Music Fest, to name a few.

Consider a day in the life of a musician or band: Trying to coordinate schedules with all the other members to nail down a consistent practice time. Finding a "loud-volume-friendly" place to practice (don't dare call it "noise"). Contacting venue owners and managers to secure gigs. And there's a lot more than this; not even mentioning (in some cases) supporting a family, and holding down a steady day job to keep the heat on. In most cases, the budgets for bands are low, so groups mostly rely on self-sufficiency when it comes to PR, marketing, and booking.

There is a love for the music, and how its received by the community that is a driving force in the efforts of a Musician. From the sound of the crowd when the first chord is played of a popular song, to them yelling for an encore after the last tune, the energy from the show reasonates within the mind of a Musician, thus continuing the love affair between band and audience.

Musicians and vocalists of all genres deserve to be recognized for their efforts. Their level of talent and expression of their art is too significant to oversee. Fortunately, Cincinnati has such a forum for this recognition: The Cincinnati Entertainment Awards (The CEA's).

In its 13th year, this year consists of 104 nominees, across 19 categories. Cincinnati publication CityBeat seeks input from Music Writers, promoters, venue owners, and more to compile a list of nominees. The awards include the best in various genres, as well as 'Artist of the Year', 'Album of the Year', and 'New Artist of the Year'.

The Jazz Half hones in on the Jazz category, observing a very worthy list of nominees including:

- The Wade Baker Jazz Collaboration

- Dan Faehnle- The Faux Frenchmen

- Dan Karlsberg

- The Northside Jazz Ensemble

Click here to place your vote for every category. But hurry, the voting deadline is Monday, Nov. 9th. The awards ceremony will be held Sunday, Nov. 22nd at the Madison Theater. For more information on the CEA's, visit citybeat.com. Cheers!