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.
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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Toni Kofi
Born in Nottingham to West African parents, the playing career of saxophonist Tony Kofi when he chanced upon a series of jazz workshops, run in Leicester by Nick Hislam. Tony also took lessons from local saxophonist and jazz mentor George Carmichael and was bitten by the jazz bug and made a point of making the journey to go along to each session. This laid the seeds for what was to come, a four-year stint at the legendary Berklee College of Music in Boston Mass. USA, on a full scholarship music diploma.
While in the US, Tony studied with such musical luminaries as Andy Magee and Billy Pearce, gaining invaluable experience that he then put to best use when he returned to the UK. From 1991, Tony was part of the UK's leading jazz group of the time – The Jazz Warriors.This band was (and, indeed, is, in its current form of Tomorrow's Warriors) a hotbed of young talent from the UK jazz scene. Tony was also vital part of Gary Crosby's Nu Troop; this was a big stepping stone for his solo and ensemble work, contributing massively to his own solo projects and educational projects.
Tony is still committed to this ethos, regularly running his own workshops and giving individual lessons. Throughout the nineties Tony was busy, appearing in the front line of innumerable high-profile musicians and groups, including Billy Higgins, Byron Wallen's Indigo, Claude Deppa's A.J.E. & Horns Unlimited, Cheikh Tidiane Fall Quintet, Clifford Jarvis, Courtney Pine, Digable Planets, Donald Byrd, Dr Lonnie Smith, Eddie Henderson, Gary Crosby's Nu-Troop, Julian Joseph Big Band, Jazz Jamaica All Stars, The David Murray Big Band, US-3, Tim Richards' Great Spirit, The Grand Union orchestra, and Lucky Ranku's African jazz all stars, as well as composing original music for his Ten piece group, the Afro Jazz family.
Recently Tony has been working with the Harry Connick JR big band performing on the The Paul O'Grady show and a live BBC jazz line up recording.
Watch Tony live at The Crypt (plus interview)
Tony's Webiste