Japan names jazz entries

MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN published its full entry lists on March 19, 2026 and scheduled the 2026 awards ceremony for June 13, 2026 at TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO. (natalie.mu)) For the Best Jazz Album category, MAJ used global streaming metrics compiled by Luminate and applied an aggregation window running from January 27, 2025 to February 22, 2026 to form its entry pool. (musicawardsjapan.com)) The awards’ official Best Jazz Album entries PDF — the document MAJ published alongside the announcement — lists the album "melodies" on the category page for 2026. (musicawardsjapan.com)) "melodies" was released on January 15, 2025 on the Ammonite Musique label and the record was captured live in a one‑take session at the Velvetsun venue on June 24, 2024. (motohikoichino.stores.jp)) Credits show Motohiko Ichino as composer and guitarist, Kenta Tsugami on alto saxophone and Akira Sotoyama on drums, with guest tenor saxophonist Minyen Hsieh appearing on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8. (motohikoichino.com)) MAJ said it expanded this year to 78 award categories and that the total number of entry works and artists across all categories reached roughly 2,000, a scale the organizers highlighted when releasing the entry lists. (natalie.mu))