Biography
Arnie Somogyi – bassist, composer, bandleader, educator
‘surely one of the UK’s finest talents’ – London Jazz News
Arnie Somogyi is one of the UK's most in-demand bass players and has played on over 60 albums, including five with his own projects as a leader.
He has recorded, performed and toured with many of the world’s leading jazz musicians including Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Henderson, Steve Grossman, Scott Hamilton, Mal Waldron, Seamus Blake, Sonny Fortune, Arturo Sandoval, Jorge Rossy, Joe Chambers, Rene Marie, James Moody, Joey Calderazzo, Art Farmer, Chris Botti and The Mingus Big Band as well as international stars Tom Jones, Charlie Watts, Amy Winehouse, Richard Ashcroft and Omar.
He has appeared frequently at world-renowned jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, both as a sideman, leader and member of The Ronnie Scott's All-Stars.
His music has featured on radio, television and in the feature films 'The Talented Mr Ripley' and 'An Education', and he has performed around the world in a wide variety of formats.
Arnie is currently involved in a new project, ‘Albuca’, which includes pianist Mark Edwards, saxophonist Ben Castle and drummer Darren Beckett. The band put their own spin and fresh arrangements on jazz standards, established and modern, as well as music, both composed and improvised, drawn from the outer edges of their eclectic influences and experience. They are booked to appear as part of the 2019 EFG London Jazz Festival.
Albuca completed their first tour in the spring of 2019 and recently recorded their debut album in one live room at Echo Zoo Studios, Eastbourne, directly to analogue 2-track tape.
The album, to be released later this year, was produced by legendary guitarist and composer Adrian Utley of iconic Bristol band Portishead. It centres around the Steinway grand piano, rescued from Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre, and played in December 1973 by Duke Ellington on his final recorded concert, ‘The Eastbourne Performance”, released on the RCA label in 1975.
BACKGROUND:
Arnie graduated from Bristol University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English. Already working on the Bristol music scene he was awarded a scholarship to enter the Postgraduate Diploma Course at The Guildhall School of Music, where he studied bass under Jeff Clyne.
After completing his PGDip year at the Guildhall he worked extensively on the UK jazz scene with some of the UK’s leading jazz musicians including Stan Tracey, Alan Skidmore, Dave O’Higgins, Ian Ballamy, Claire Martin, Clark Tracey and Peter King, frequently at legendary jazz club, Ronnie Scott’s, around the UK and further afield in continental Europe and the Far East.
In 2000 he put together his first project as a leader – Cold Cherry Soup – which featured Hungarian musicians Tony Lakatos (sax) and Zsolt Bende (guitar) alongside London-based musicians Liam Noble (piano) and Winston Clifford (drums). The album 'Cold Cherry Soup' was launched at Ronnie Scott's Club in Soho in 2001 to widespread critical acclaim and was chosen as BBC Music Magazine's Jazz Pick of the Month. In May 2003 he created and hosted the highly successful Hungary Jazz Festival in Soho, incorporating top jazz musicians from both the UK and Hungary.
In 2004 he formed IMPROVOKATION - a ten-piece Anglo-Hungarian band combining leading improvisers from both folk and jazz worlds. Launched at the Cheltenham International Festival the band headlined at Ronnie Scott’s for a week and then toured the regions to enthusiastic audiences. Improvokation’s debut CD, ‘Star Mountain Sessions’ was the Observer CD of the week and received extensive radio play. In November 2004 the band appeared as part of the London Jazz Festival and in 2005 appeared at the Jyvaskyla Summer Jazz Festival in Finland.
In 2006 he put together a new quartet, Ambulance, releasing two albums “Worthless Originals” and “Accident and Insurgency”. Featuring trumpet legend Eddie Henderson, the recording showcased an entirely original set of new material developed during the first-ever jazz-residency at the internationally renowned music centre Snape Maltings in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The album was nominated for a BBC Jazz Award and Ambulance were nominated Best Ensemble at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. ‘Accident and Insurgency’ was supported by a UK tour attracting significant critical acclaim, including **** reviews in The Guardian, The Times, BBC Music Magazine, Jazzwise and The Scotsman; and was featured Gig of the Week and Critic's Choice in Time Out.
In 2012 he was commissioned by the National Trust to create a ground-breaking project combining the written word, composed and improvised music and ambient sound. Untrue Island was inspired by Orford Ness Nature Reserve, a desolate shingle spit and former MOD research establishment on the Suffolk Coast. It was produced in collaboration with award-winning writer Robert Macfarlane, performed live on the Ness and included in the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
2012 also saw him form Scenes in the City and release the album “The Man Who Never Sleeps”, a tribute to the great American bassist Charles Mingus. The group performs reinterpretations of Mingus compositions and has worked consistently on the UK jazz scene.
COMMERCIAL MUSIC AND RADIO PRODUCTION:
In 2006 Arnie established “Voodookazoo” with saxophonist Rob Townsend. Their music has been used worldwide in a wide variety of media including film, television and video games. From their home studio premises the partnership have produce commissioned music for for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sony Games and Warner Chappell Music Production Music.
Arnie has made three BBC Radio 4 documentaries – ‘Cool Roots’ - a musical journey back to trace his ancestral roots in Hungary, 'Package Peculiar', a travelogue of visits to Draculaland in Transylvania and Stalinworld in Lithuania and ‘The Goulash Archipelago’, a two-part road trip for radio in which Arnie and his friend Zsolt Bende travelled from Budapest to the highest town in Transylvania, swapping music for food.
JAZZ EDUCATION:
Since 1999 Arnie has been bass tutor at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where his responsibilities have included one-to-one instrumental tuition, ensemble coaching – from small group to big band - delivering the jazz history module and assessing and moderating major projects.
He has also taught and led ensembles at London Conservatoires – The Royal Academy, Trinity College and The Guildhall School of Music.
He is a longstanding member of the Global Music Foundation, with whom he has taught on seminars in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany.
JAZZ PROMOTION:
In 2014 Arnie established Greensand Jazz, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting jazz in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and bringing the music to a new audience. Since then Greensand Jazz has presented the very best in British Jazz alongside international renowned musicians in a variety of venues. It was the major promoter in the Leighton Buzzard Oxjam Festival, raising thousands of pounds for international charity Oxfam.
‘surely one of the UK’s finest talents’ – London Jazz News
Arnie Somogyi is one of the UK's most in-demand bass players and has played on over 60 albums, including five with his own projects as a leader.
He has recorded, performed and toured with many of the world’s leading jazz musicians including Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Henderson, Steve Grossman, Scott Hamilton, Mal Waldron, Seamus Blake, Sonny Fortune, Arturo Sandoval, Jorge Rossy, Joe Chambers, Rene Marie, James Moody, Joey Calderazzo, Art Farmer, Chris Botti and The Mingus Big Band as well as international stars Tom Jones, Charlie Watts, Amy Winehouse, Richard Ashcroft and Omar.
He has appeared frequently at world-renowned jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, both as a sideman, leader and member of The Ronnie Scott's All-Stars.
His music has featured on radio, television and in the feature films 'The Talented Mr Ripley' and 'An Education', and he has performed around the world in a wide variety of formats.
Arnie is currently involved in a new project, ‘Albuca’, which includes pianist Mark Edwards, saxophonist Ben Castle and drummer Darren Beckett. The band put their own spin and fresh arrangements on jazz standards, established and modern, as well as music, both composed and improvised, drawn from the outer edges of their eclectic influences and experience. They are booked to appear as part of the 2019 EFG London Jazz Festival.
Albuca completed their first tour in the spring of 2019 and recently recorded their debut album in one live room at Echo Zoo Studios, Eastbourne, directly to analogue 2-track tape.
The album, to be released later this year, was produced by legendary guitarist and composer Adrian Utley of iconic Bristol band Portishead. It centres around the Steinway grand piano, rescued from Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre, and played in December 1973 by Duke Ellington on his final recorded concert, ‘The Eastbourne Performance”, released on the RCA label in 1975.
BACKGROUND:
Arnie graduated from Bristol University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English. Already working on the Bristol music scene he was awarded a scholarship to enter the Postgraduate Diploma Course at The Guildhall School of Music, where he studied bass under Jeff Clyne.
After completing his PGDip year at the Guildhall he worked extensively on the UK jazz scene with some of the UK’s leading jazz musicians including Stan Tracey, Alan Skidmore, Dave O’Higgins, Ian Ballamy, Claire Martin, Clark Tracey and Peter King, frequently at legendary jazz club, Ronnie Scott’s, around the UK and further afield in continental Europe and the Far East.
In 2000 he put together his first project as a leader – Cold Cherry Soup – which featured Hungarian musicians Tony Lakatos (sax) and Zsolt Bende (guitar) alongside London-based musicians Liam Noble (piano) and Winston Clifford (drums). The album 'Cold Cherry Soup' was launched at Ronnie Scott's Club in Soho in 2001 to widespread critical acclaim and was chosen as BBC Music Magazine's Jazz Pick of the Month. In May 2003 he created and hosted the highly successful Hungary Jazz Festival in Soho, incorporating top jazz musicians from both the UK and Hungary.
In 2004 he formed IMPROVOKATION - a ten-piece Anglo-Hungarian band combining leading improvisers from both folk and jazz worlds. Launched at the Cheltenham International Festival the band headlined at Ronnie Scott’s for a week and then toured the regions to enthusiastic audiences. Improvokation’s debut CD, ‘Star Mountain Sessions’ was the Observer CD of the week and received extensive radio play. In November 2004 the band appeared as part of the London Jazz Festival and in 2005 appeared at the Jyvaskyla Summer Jazz Festival in Finland.
In 2006 he put together a new quartet, Ambulance, releasing two albums “Worthless Originals” and “Accident and Insurgency”. Featuring trumpet legend Eddie Henderson, the recording showcased an entirely original set of new material developed during the first-ever jazz-residency at the internationally renowned music centre Snape Maltings in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The album was nominated for a BBC Jazz Award and Ambulance were nominated Best Ensemble at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. ‘Accident and Insurgency’ was supported by a UK tour attracting significant critical acclaim, including **** reviews in The Guardian, The Times, BBC Music Magazine, Jazzwise and The Scotsman; and was featured Gig of the Week and Critic's Choice in Time Out.
In 2012 he was commissioned by the National Trust to create a ground-breaking project combining the written word, composed and improvised music and ambient sound. Untrue Island was inspired by Orford Ness Nature Reserve, a desolate shingle spit and former MOD research establishment on the Suffolk Coast. It was produced in collaboration with award-winning writer Robert Macfarlane, performed live on the Ness and included in the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
2012 also saw him form Scenes in the City and release the album “The Man Who Never Sleeps”, a tribute to the great American bassist Charles Mingus. The group performs reinterpretations of Mingus compositions and has worked consistently on the UK jazz scene.
COMMERCIAL MUSIC AND RADIO PRODUCTION:
In 2006 Arnie established “Voodookazoo” with saxophonist Rob Townsend. Their music has been used worldwide in a wide variety of media including film, television and video games. From their home studio premises the partnership have produce commissioned music for for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sony Games and Warner Chappell Music Production Music.
Arnie has made three BBC Radio 4 documentaries – ‘Cool Roots’ - a musical journey back to trace his ancestral roots in Hungary, 'Package Peculiar', a travelogue of visits to Draculaland in Transylvania and Stalinworld in Lithuania and ‘The Goulash Archipelago’, a two-part road trip for radio in which Arnie and his friend Zsolt Bende travelled from Budapest to the highest town in Transylvania, swapping music for food.
JAZZ EDUCATION:
Since 1999 Arnie has been bass tutor at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, where his responsibilities have included one-to-one instrumental tuition, ensemble coaching – from small group to big band - delivering the jazz history module and assessing and moderating major projects.
He has also taught and led ensembles at London Conservatoires – The Royal Academy, Trinity College and The Guildhall School of Music.
He is a longstanding member of the Global Music Foundation, with whom he has taught on seminars in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany.
JAZZ PROMOTION:
In 2014 Arnie established Greensand Jazz, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting jazz in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire and bringing the music to a new audience. Since then Greensand Jazz has presented the very best in British Jazz alongside international renowned musicians in a variety of venues. It was the major promoter in the Leighton Buzzard Oxjam Festival, raising thousands of pounds for international charity Oxfam.
