Mister Ott takes you on a journey, to another place and time where you lose your self in the music.

A glorious celebration of afro-funk that crosses dub, hip-hop and Ethiopian jazz, Mister Ott are heading out on an anticipated State-wide tour in April 2020. Hitting venues and dancehalls throughout NSW, the tour is Mister Ott’s first since releasing their critically acclaimed third album In The Flow (Earshift Records, 2021).

Merging mesmerising eastern sounds, tight jazz funk, hypnotic grooves with lyrical horn lines and high calibre exhilarating solos, Mister Ott’s lush blend of exotic sounds is precisely the tonic to shake off the past few years.

Band leader Matthew Ottignon is a gun saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist with indisputable musical genes, hailing from Auckland, New Zealand and now based in Sydney, Australia. An in-demand artist and the first call for saxophonists in Australia, Matt’s unique voice and endless ideas spring from everywhere he’s been and everything he’s seen. Putting Matt’s compositions front and centre, Mister Ott has undoubtedly earned him a place among Australia’s thriving contemporary scene.

 With a keen ear and an expansive range of musical experiences, Matthew’s compositions comprise an amalgamation of melodies from his many international travels, in particular Ethiopian music, aligned with the free-form improvisation and syncopation for which African-pedigreed jazz is renowned.

The band features award winning trumpeter Ellen Kirkwood, sought-after guitarist Ben Panucci, synth-master Daniel Pliner, the irresistible bass playing of Dave Symes, and influential drummer Carlos Adura.

Mister Ott is: 

Matthew Ottignon – tenor and baritone saxes, flute, 

Ellen Kirwood : trumpet,

 

Daniel Pliner – piano, organ, 

Ben Panucci – guitar, 

Eden Ottignon – bass, 

Carlos Adura – drums

With a style originally rooted in the Ethiojazz of Mulatu Astatke and Getatchew Mekurya, Mister Ott is part of a world wide movement of African inspired jazz ensembles, while being equally inspired by hip-hop, soul and electronica.

The band’s first album ‘Drop It Like It’s Ott’ – a high caliber instrumental record that crosses world music with jazz, funk and Ethiopian music – was released in April 2015 and it’s follow up ‘Single Shot’ was released 2017 receiving many favourable reviews in the press both here in Australia and internationally. The band recently returned from performing in Berlin.

“The musicianship on Single Shot is utterly flawless” – BMA Magazine

“Positive, buoyant, Single Shot slides easily from Mulatu Astatke inspired Ethiopian Jazz through the relentlessly compulsive Afro-futurism of Head Hunters/Sunlight period Herbie Hancock” – Echoes and Dust (UK)

“With these sorts of overpoweringly, extremely adventurous tracks there can be no doubt that this collective sends concert halls into every kind of frenzy”  – Written In Music (Holland)

“infectious rhythms which range from Mulatu-esque stompers to uptempo afro-beat shakers”  – Mos Eisley Blog (Germany)

“These musicians know who they are, where they are, what they are doing and why, and you can hear it”  – Jazz Australia

“this is definitely an album you’ll want to hear again”  – Eastside Radio