The Leeds Gig Guide

Band Biography for arnie somogyi's ambulance:

Arnie Somogyi's Ambulance features five of the UK's most accomplished young jazz musicians, in collaboration with U.S. jazz trumpet and flugelhorn legend Eddie Henderson.

Arnie Somogyi is one of the UK's leading jazz bass players and innovative new bandleaders. Starting out on the violin at 5, bass guitar at 14 and later the double bass, Arnie began playing with Portishead's Adrian Utley during a BA Hons course in English at Bristol University before moving onto The Guildhall in London to study music exclusively.

Arnie is a much-sought after musician, composer, bandleader and a jazz educator at Birmingham Conservatoire. He's played with many of the world's top jazz musicians from Steve Grossman, James Moody, Bobby Hutcherson, Annie Ross and Claire Martin, to Art Farmer, Joey Calderazzo and Bud Shank. He has featured on over 30 albums with leading talents including Urban Species, Galliano, Omar, Chris Botti and The Verve's Richard Ashcroft. He's also performed on film soundtracks including "The Talented Mr Ripley", and presented two BBC Radio 4 ‘road-movie-for-radio' documentaries about Eastern Europe. As one of the "all-stars" he performs regularly at Ronnie Scott's, one of the world's leading jazz venues. Arnie is also a partner in music production outfit, VoodooKazoo.

His first album as leader and composer in 2000, "Cold Cherry Soup", received widespread critical acclaim and was chosen as BBC Music Magazine's Jazz Pick of the Month. He 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.

Ambulance is his latest project as bandleader - a highly original five-piece band of young and ambitious musicians, launched at Ronnie Scott's in 2005.

The band was chosen for the first-ever jazz-residency at the prestigious Snape Maltings in Aldeburgh in Spring 2006, where they created an entirely original set of new music for their debut album ‘Accident and Insurgency', released on Linn Records (AKD 306). It has since been nomindated for a BBC Jazz Award - Best Album 2008.

The band's subsequent performances at Ronnie Scott's in September 2006 and UK tour in 2007 with legendary guest trumpeter Eddie Henderson won extensive plaudits across the national press.





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