International Jazz (Divas) Festival

Whilst playing host to the hottest weekend of the year so far, Friday 13th - Sunday 15th April also witnessed the melodic sounds of the International Jazz (Divas) Festival sweeping across Ventnor like a welcome breeze.

Growing in size, quality and reputation year on year, this wide-ranging musical event expanded further upon its previous successes with a huge range of jazz artists featuring in its 2007 line-up. With its slopes rising from the seashore bays in Italianate fashion, the Victorian town of Ventnor was the perfect location to stage such an eclectic, creative and artist event which, when combined with the hazy warm weather, boasted a truly relaxed and laid-back feel to its proceedings.

Three fantastic nights featuring over 30 different concerts to relax the body, free the mind and sooth the soul

Since the first International Jazz Festival back in 2002, the number of jazz fans visiting the Ventnor to enjoy the unique atmosphere it generates has grown from about 500 to 5,600 in 2006. Named 'international' because of the worldwide range of cultures spanned by its artists, this year a special emphasis was placed upon the staggering contribution made by women to jazz music with the word 'Divas' also being adopted into its title.

Indeed this April's event was a true celebration of some of the finest female jazz artists around, with the whole weekend dedicated to showcasing an International line-up of Jazz Divas, performing many different types of jazz, from New Orleans to contemporary.

Jazz Diva demonstrates her time-honoured excellence

Queen of Jazz Dame Cleo Laine was in town to top the bill on the Sunday evening, accompanied by her husband Sir John Dankworth. Irrespective of the fact that she is due to turn 80 this year, Cleo Laine wasted no time in proving to a delighted audience at the Winter Gardens that she still has what it takes, with her trademark husky and sultry jazz voice ringing out loud and clear.

Also performing at various venues across Ventnor during the course of the weekend were Sax Appeal, Dennis Rollins' Badbone & Co, Norma Winstone & Stan Tracey Quartet, Martin Drew & the New Jazz Couriers, Esther Miller, Dennis Rollins, Snowboy and the Latin Section, Juliet Kelly, Dave O'Higgins, Julian Marc Stringle, Laura Zakian, Digby Fairweather's Half Dozen, Karen Sharp, Malcolm Creese, Art Themen, Spike Wells, Colin Peters Quartet, Simon Purcell, Zoe Schwartz, Kaz Simmons, John Horler, plus several Jazz DJ's.

Local produce, skills & crafts

Several new venues were added to accommodate the ever-expanding list of artists keen to perform as part of what is now a highly acclaimed and well-established annual event in the calendars of Jazz clubs across the country. As well as the Ventnor Winter Gardens where the headline acts took to the stage of an evening, this multi-site festival also encompassed a complete Jazz village of marquees including the Badger First Gold marquee and an all-new Jazz Dance marquee, plus the Messin' Around Saturday Night Club which was brought to the Island all the way from London's prestigious Jazz Café.

Non-ticket holders were also welcome to wander around the Jazz Village, which also housed various food stalls, a Japanese Restaurant, Mobile Beach-hut Diner and Isle of Wight Orange where festival-goers and visitors could purchase a refreshing glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Also located in the Jazz Village was the Festival Bazaar tent, which offered buyers the chance to own a multitude of locally produced arts and crafts, not forgetting Kiddies Corner - with bouncy castles to keep the children entertained.

A real community festival that encompassed the whole town

Additional venues stretched all the way from the Ventnor Cricket Club to the Royal Hotel, the Spyglass Boathouse through the main town and esplanade, up through Salisbury Gardens, to the Ventnor Towers Hotel and along the coastal path in the direction of Bonchurch. It was here at East Dene (the former home of Algernon Charles Swinburne) that visitors to the International Jazz Festival were able to experience another new initiative; dedicated to gypsy, traditional and swing music. A free fringe also developed in neighbouring pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, cafes and wine bars throughout the town, which without doubt generated a real community vibe to the whole event and gave local jazz talent the opportunity to perform live.

If all of this wasn't enough, Jazz musicians could frequently be found playing their music outdoors in the sunshine at various locations along the promenade and within the entrance to Ventnor Haven. Whether visitors to Ventnor during the course of this weekend were Jazz enthusiasts or not, one thing was for sure - having been privy to the town's airy, light-hearted and carefree atmosphere; no one would have returned home disappointed.

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