There are a few music festivals that take place every year in the Isle of Wight, the 'Jazz Festival' is an event that has taken place for only a few years. I am a Jazz guitarist and I had the privilege to perform there for the first time last year in 2006, it was great, I loved the atmosphere, the people were warm and friendly and I've never met so many people who knew their Jazz inside out.

I got ready to go on stage with Jazz Culture to perform a well rehearsed Jazz set for 11 am, it was around 10.50 am in the morning and I didn't expect anyone to turn up until we finished, at 11am the place was packed, I don't know where the crowd came from but everyone sat down looking serious and ready to be entertained.

I knew that letting them down was the last thing on my mind, I came this far over the water by ferry to get up early in the morning for an unheard of 11am gig, me and the band went into a few standards like 'blue skies', 'killer Joe', 'taking a chance on love' and 'fly me to the moon' it went down a storm, we were on stage for about an hour, we even did two encores. From that moment me, the band and the audience fell in love with each other, there was a powerful aura between all of us. Well I've been to Isle of Wight many times since and when I perform there it feels like home to me, I got the chance to play at this years 2007 festival and it was mind blowing, there were many great international acts included, very talented and inspiring, there was a nice vibe all around and the weather was fantastic, I can't wait to go there again, even if you aren't performing, it's worth booking a trip out there for three days next April to absorb this Jazz experience.

Professional guitarist, songwriter and musical director residing in Kent, United Kingdom, currently writes for magazines and ezines between tours and music workshops, music styles include jazz, soul, rock, blues, funk, latin and pop.

Source: www.articlesbase.com