Policy Statement

This event is being organised by a local committee of musicians and jazz fans.

Our aim is to promote jazz on the Isle of Wight. Members of the committee will not receive any financial reward. Inspected accounts will be made available on request.

The committee will cover the cost of the main venues and headline acts. This will be funded by sponsorship, ticket sales and other fund-raising activities.

Any subsequent profits will go towards funding future events and a donation to charity (IW Mountbatten Hospice).

We will encourage other performances during the period. However, we will not act as agents. It will be the responsibility of the performers and venues to negotiate between themselves.

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Arnie Somogyi

Starting out on bass guitar at 14 and later moving onto the double bass, Arnie began playing with Portishead’s Adrian Utley during a BA Hons course in English at Bristol University before moving to London to play with Acid Jazz legend Tommy Chase.

In 1990 he won a scholarship to The Guildhall of Music in London to study on the postgraduate jazz course.

Now based in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Arnie is a much-sought after musician, composer, bandleader and a jazz lecturer at Birmingham Conservatoire. He’s performed and recorded with a wide variety of leading musicians, from pop legends Tom Jones, Amy Winehouse and Charlie Watts to renowned jazz artists including John Dankworth, Stan Tracey, Steve Grossman, James Moody, Bobby Hutcherson, Annie Ross, Clare Martin, Art Farmer, Joey Calderazzo and Bud Shank. Arnie has featured on over 40 albums with leading talents including Eddie Henderson, Eric Alexander, Omar, Chris Botti, and the Verve’s Richard Ashcroft. He’s also appeared on film soundtracks including ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ and on-screen in the Oscar-nominated “An Education” (2009). He has presented three BBC Radio 4 ‘road-movie-for-radio’ documentaries about Eastern Europe and has recorded international music features for BBC Radio.

Arnie is also a partner in music production outfit, Voodookazoo, working with ITV, Talkback Thames, Discovery Channel, The Disney Channel, Triffic Films and Carlin Publishing as well as composing and producing music for numerous video games.

His first album as leader and composer in 2000, 'Cold Cherry Soup',was received with widespread critical acclaim and chosen as BBC Music Magazine's Jazz Pick of the Month. He also created and led the acclaimed Hungary Jazz Festival in Soho in May 2002, starring some of the UK's and Hungary's finest jazz artists. Arnie was also the motivating force behind IMPROVOKATION, a ground-breaking Anglo-Hungarian 10-piece ensemble of leading jazz and folk musicians. The debut tour in 2004, backed by Arts Council East, included Cheltenham International Jazz Festival, Appleby Jazz Festival & Ronnie Scott’s.

He works frequently at Ronnie Scott’s club as a member of the club's house band, the “Ronnie Scott’s All-Stars”.

"Somogyi has respect for the jazz tradition whilst simultaneously subtly undermining it. Long may he continue to do so."
- TheJazzMann.com

Watch Arnie play "Good Bait" with Perico Sambeat

Arnie's Website