duke ellington, bud powel, thelonious monk, bill evans, al green, aretha franklin, betty carter, betty davis, bill withers, billie holiday, bjork, bob dylan,outkast, maria callas, bob marley, bobby mcferrin, che fu, cinematic orchestra, curtis mayfield, d'angelo,de la soul , donny hathaway, dr. john, erykah badu, ella fitzgerald, etta james, fat freddy's drop, jill Scott, jaco pastorius, jimi hendrix, john coltrane, lee scratch perry, lee dorsey, lou reed, me'shell ndgegeocelo, the meters, miles davis, millie jackson, nina simone, otis redding, ray charles, the roots, salif keita, sarah vaughn, sly & the family stone, snoop dogg, stevie wonder, a tribe called quest, tricky, wu-tang clan, zakir Hussain, zap mama, Herbie Hancock, Ahmad Jamal, J Dilla (RIP), George Duke, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Parliament/Funkadelic,Jack Dejohnette, Kenny Kirkland, Joe Henderson, Prince, Harvey Mason, Lenny White, Tribe Called Quest, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner,Airto, Elvin Jones, Fela Kuti, Dr Dre, Chucho Valdez, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Wayne Shorter, Parliament/Funkadelic, James Brown, Jack Dejohnette, Joe Henderson, RAMP, Prince, Harvey Mason, Lenny White, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Roy Ayers, Prince, Timbaland, McCoy Tyner, Earth Wind & Fire, Bernard Wright, Elvin Jones, Fela Kuti, Marvin Gaye, Dr Dre, etc, etc
‘Not only is he a stunning player, but he’s a stunningly original player’
Stuart Nicholson, Observer Music Monthly Magazine
An explosive combination of instrumental trance-dance, jazz, rock and South Pacific Island grooves.
Led by Aron Ottignon on piano and Inspired by the log drums and the cultures close to his native New Zealand he and his band ARONAS will take you on a wild, musical journey – a ride that has attracted the label ‘punk-jazz’.
Born in New Zealand - he was just 11 he won the award for ‘New Zealand’s Most Outstanding Jazz Musician under the age of 25 !!
Relocating to Sydney to further his inspirations – he won the 2003 Bells Young Jazz Musician of the Year Award.
His CD ‘Culture Tunnels’ was nominated for an ARIA award for the Best Jazz Album.
Along with five other artists he was named the ‘future of jazz’ in the Observer Music Monthly magazine which encouraged him re-locate to London and undertake a major touring schedule including: MIDEM 2006 in Cannes: Cargo and Jazz Café, London: Jz’s and The Glamour Bar, Shanghai: Rhino Jazz Festival, Lyons: Jazz Ouest, Strasbourg: the Philharmonie, Luxembourg: and further headliners for the Jazz Now Festival (Sydney Opera House) and the 2006 London Jazz Festival, MOst recently, Paris Espirit Jazz Festival, LE SHOWCASE, ART ROCK FESTIVAL SAINT BRIEUC, V.I.P SAINT NAZAIRE. He also found time to assist his contemporary Recloose on a European capital city tour – as well as write and produce tracks for his sister, the exceptionally-talented Holly O .
The accolades have come thick and fast:
‘The combination of their mind-blowing prowess and innate sense of musicality -
the unique double-drum/percussion and bass line up ‘cleaves a path through the prevailing mediocrity’….’
‘This brand of testosterone-fuelled Rachmaninov-goes-jazz playing will take your breath away.’
"Ottignon is serving notice that he is, potentially at least, one of the finest pianists in jazz”
Aron Ottignon…has hit upon something so startlingly original he deserves galaxies of stars in our rating system’
‘Culture Tunnels’ – the ARIA-nominated CD has been re-mastered with 2 bonus tracks and is available through Solid Air Music – one of the UK’s bright, new indie labels .
Ahead of more headline shows in Australia, New Zealand and China ARON OTTIGNON and ARONAS perform at ROSKILE FEST, DENMARK, PORTUGAL, FRANCE.
For further details – please contact:
Russell Thorpe, Manager - info@rt-music.com - +44 7976 15 15 99
"Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the New Zealand pianist Aron Ottignon was inspired as a youngster by Maori rhythms. In his neck of the woods an American musician was a rare sight, so he worked out his own approach to jazz inspired by records and the culture around him. His Australia debut, in 1999, was the stuff of legend. 'Aron was an unknown quantity when he made the finals of the National Jazz Awards here ,' recalls Adrian Jackson , the Wangaratta festival's artistic director. 'Nobody expected a 16-year-old from New Zealand to play with such absolute confidence and energy and poise. I think it was obvious to everyone that a major new talent had arrived.'
Six years on, Ottignon is serving notice that he is, potentially at least, one of the finest pianists in jazz." Stuart nicholsan, Observer music monthly.
Whuts good, check this out / New VIDEO : SHYHEIM presents The BOTTOM UP in "Staten Island" (produced by M7) NOW ON MY PAGE....& Look out for M7 new project "NYC:the 5 boroughs" (CD/DVD) coming soon....BLESS
4-7 of June - FINDAMORALE FESTIVAL 2009, HOXTON, LONDON.
with SUPER double bills from Paris on 5th and 6th of June featuring
1) - HADRIEN FERAUD (Bireli Lagrene, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea) and RUMEURS
2) - LINLEY MARTHE ( Joe Zawinul, Mino Cinelu, Dave Liebman, Trilok Gurtu, Richard Galliano) Project. You will have a rare chance to see these two bands on one night for the price of one!
Only at CHARLIE WRIGHT'S INTERNATIONAL (45 Pitfield Street, N1 6DA). For more info call 07918635328 or go www.myspace.com/charliewrights
Have you ever heard a single violinist sound like 12?
Recently, I added a new song to my music player called, "Always" which might be one of the best songs I've written so far. Since I love strings, the chorus was scored for an entire violin section. However, in studio, I had one violinist, Jan "Yes I Can" Sullins. I asked her to single handedly create the sound of a "Hollywood style" string section. This is almost like telling someone, "Please jump rope one handed 10 times while monkeys nip at your feet."
Lucky for me, Jan worked some magic and now you can hear it for yourself. So can you do me a favor? For the sake of Jan and her "can do" attitude, please check out "Always," track 1 in my music player. It's from my upcoming album, "Awakening," which will be released June 16th.
Better yet, add it to your playlist if you like it.
Hey, just wanted to say thank you for your friendship on here, as a new band it means a lot to have your support! Feel free to come and listen to our stuff whenever you get a chance and comment us with your thoughts, it would be much appreciated! Have a good day.
