The jazz category is always wide open. Best Music Poll voters are young, eager, and go out all the time. Jazz tends not to happen in the clubs, requires an older and educated appreciation, and caters to those who can relax a little bit and take it all in. So it makes some sense that the Edith Jones Project took home this year’s Bimpy — there’s a whole gang of them, after all, and that means plenty of tangential fans willing to put in a little time at the voting computer.

That’s not to belittle their accomplishment, however. The Edith Jones Project is an all-woman big band, which means they travel in a musical style not known for its female affiliation. Jazz of any kind has always lent itself to a boys-club mentality, maybe letting in a fine-singing gal to put on a pretty face, so Edith Jones is a great show of girl power in our books. Plus, they’re powered by some of Maine’s best musical talent, professors at Bates, USM, Bowdoin, UNH, and others who have performed all over the world and with many a big-name talent.

A few Edith Jonesers — Rebecca Wing, Liz Trice (who came in second on her own in this category), Sue Brennan, Alison Jones, and MaryLee Haughwout — certainly weren’t shy about storming the stage to collect their Bimpy, and they were the only winners to make sure they did a little self-promoting, filling people in on their deal and giving a shout out to their Web site. Edith Jones is apparently a Yorkshire Terrier, Alison’s dog, but the band delight in other Edith Joneses as well: Edith Jones Wharton the novelist; Dr. Edith Jones, first female president of the National Medical Association; and even Judge Edith Jones, who serves on the 5th District Court, was appointed by Reagan, and is admired by King Bush.

These are some Joneses with whom anyone would have a hard time keeping up.

Runners up: Elizabeth Trice, Mystic Out-Bop Review