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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Karen Sharp

karen sharp Karen is always a popular visitor to the Island and her broad, lyrical, melodic approach to the tenor and baritone sax has ensured that she has won the 2015 British Jazz Awards Tenor Sax category - the third time she has won the award.

Karen took up the tenor saxophone whilst studying composition at the Royal Northern College of Music. A friend introduced her to a recording of Dexter Gordon and she was instantly hooked, quickly joining the college jazz band and finding regular work in a busy soul band based in Liverpool. Since relocating to London in 1999 Karen has become a busy freelance musician working alongside many top class British and American musicians such as Scott Hamilton, Sir John Dankworth, Danny Moss, Alan Barnes, Barbara Lea, Dick Sudhalter, Joe Temperley, Mark Nightingale, Annie Whitehead, Ellyn Rucker, Roy Williams, Tina May, Nikki Iles, Scott Robinson, Ken Peplowski and the great blues singer Elkie Brooks.

In March 2004 Karen began a three year stint in Humphrey Lyttelton's band, which took her to venues and festivals across the UK and into Europe. During this time Karen was also working hard to establish her own quintet with which she has now produced three albums and played at top jazz venues in the UK. Karen played at the Ginza Festival, Tokyo in 2006 with British singer Tina May and pianist Nikki Iles, and more recently Karen has been working closely with South African singer Esther Miller, with whom she appeared at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2007, along with US trumpet star Jeremy Pelt.

"6 years since the release of their debut album, "Spirit", (Karen, Nikki Iiles, Steve Brown and Dave Green) have recorded their second album, "The Sun, the Moon and You", released on "Trio" records and featuring a mix of originals and jazz tunes, some familiar and others less so.
The band has a distinctive sound and approach which is a result of strong friendships and musical connections made over years of playing and touring together".

Watch Karen and Nikki Iles play "Cherokee" at the North Wales Jazz Festival.

Karen's Website