Mister Ott is proud to be part of the program for the 2023 Orange Winter Jazz Festival.
To find out more please visit https://owjf.com.au/

Mister Ott is proud to be part of the program for the 2023 Orange Winter Jazz Festival.
To find out more please visit https://owjf.com.au/
Is it too early to start reflecting on 2022? Hope not, because here goes… It’s been an invigorating year for me.
I started off with an obsessive energy to resurrect an Australian work that I find deeply inspiring: Mark Simmonds’ Fire. Thanks to Foundry616 & brilliant musicians Thomas Avgenicos, Jonathan Zwartz and James Hauptmann, by the beginning of February I was humbled to have that vision see daylight – SMH Review.
Over the next two months, Mister Ott had an incredible journey, thanks to SIMA. We toured and played our brand of get-up-and-dance to thirsty audiences. 13 stops later, I had a newfound gratitude for the professionalism and skill of everyone on that tour: Ellen Kirkwood, Daniel Pliner, Freyja Garbett, Bueno Panucci, Dave Symes, Jani Bangs and Carlos Adura – Mister Ott 2022 tour video. We’ll be on the stage again at Lazybones on 2 December, this time with Eden Ottignon back from Berlin on stage with us, and again at Fillmore’s in Kiama, Dec 17 – come say hello!
Java Quartet hit the road to launch Before, Now & After It was again, for the fourth time, a privilege to be part of such thoughtful and moving work. Java Quartet is at Foundry 616 this Thursday (Nov 10).
Alongside all this, Tim Minchin, Synthony and Baby et Lulu satisfied my hunger for the big audiences, theatrics and the company of incredible performers. But I needed some quiet this year to do something I’ve been wanting for a long time. I took time off in the later months of 2022. I booked in studio time. I revisited old thought bubbles and experiments. I indulged in works and creators that inspired me and I wrote.
On 13 December, I’ll be testing out some new ideas at Jetsets (Tempe Jets) alongside Monica Brooks (piano), Holly Conner (drums) and Hannah James (bass). The night is one of a few new artist driven endeavours creating spaces for new music to be performed in Sydney. Please come along if you can.
Lastly, it’s been an indulgence being in Sydney for so much of the second half of this year. I got to join the incredible community of musicians we have here in this unforgiving but thrilling city: Mingus Amongst Us, Geoff Bull & The Finer Cuts, Clayton Doley, The Glorious Sousaphonics, Nick Garbett, Ben Lerner, Lolo Lovina and Jade MacRae.
With pandemics and natural disasters, the release of music is deeply needed right now. Here’s to 2023 – may it fill your cups.
Love, Matt
Over the next two months, Mister Ott had an incredible journey, thanks to SIMA. We toured and played our brand of get-up-and-dance to thirsty audiences. 13 stops later we made a Mister Ott 2022 tour video. We’ll be on the stage again at Lazybones on 2 December, this time with Eden Ottignon back from Berlin on stage with us, and again at Fillmore’s in Kiama, Dec 17 – come say hello!
We head to Armidale on Friday September 30th to perform at the Playhouse, and then head to Bellingen on Saturday October 1st to perform at Relish Music and Arts Festival. Great to be back out on the road again. Our last shows in Armidale and Bellingen were a highlight of the tour.
Tickets for Armidale:
Tickets for Relish: use the discount code “Mister Ott” for a 10% discount.
https://www.relishbello.com.au/tickets
In April 2022, Mister Ott embarked on a 13 stop tour of NSW in support of the new album ‘In The Flow’.
Recorded live at Lazybones Lounge Marrickville, Sydney, Australia on April 29th, 2022.
Matthew Ottignon – tenor and baritone saxes, Ellen Kirkwood – trumpet, Daniel Pliner – keys, Freyja Garbett – keys, Ben Panucci – guitar, Dave Symes – bass, Carlos Adura – drums, Shot and edited by D.H. Norley for Shadow Cut Films.
This tour was made possible by: SIMA’s Regional Touring Program, Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative, Create NSW and Australia Council for the Arts.
Popping jazz/funk and hypnotic grooves
Acclaimed saxophonist Matthew Ottignon fronts Sydney outfit Mister Ott, merging mesmerising Eastern sounds, tasty horn melodies, tight and popping jazz/funk and hypnotic grooves that drift on the edge of psychedelica.
Mister Ott’s third release “In the Flow” features tripped out dubs by Richie B, Afro-Cuban bata drumming, and styles ranging from future disco, vintage voodoo funk to psychedelic Ethio-jazz. International flavoured jazz tailored for the dance floor.
“It truly is a lesson in how to build, layer and develop tension” – LOUD MOUTH
Matt Ottignon – Tenor, Baritone Sax, Ellen Kirkwood – Trumpet, Ben Panucci – Guitar, Dave Symes – Bass, Carlos Adura – Drums, Freyja Garbett – Keys+ Daniel Pliner – Keys
PlaneFace is not of this world. The universe is his playground and just like a shooting star across the midnight sky, if you look up and happen to witness the magic, he will fuel you to revel in the unknown with wander and curiosity. His production is richly esoteric, expansive, textured and deeply rooted in what he aptly describes as space fonk, asteroid jazz music.
$40 entry includes band and a meal
7pm Doors
8:30pm PlaneFace
9:30-12am Mister Ott
12-2am late night band
3am close
Lazybones Lounge Restaurant & Bar is a COVID Safe ✅. You must follow the conditions of entry.
This event is supported by SIMA’s Regional Touring Program, Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative, Create NSW and Australia Council for the Arts.
Tour Dates:
Sun March 13th | Kiama Jazz Festival at Filmores, Kiama | Tickets
Sat March 26th | Foundry 616, Ultimo | Tickets
Fri April 1st | The Street Theatre, Canberra | Tickets
Sat April 2nd | El Horses, Nowra | Tickets
Sun April 3rd | Smokey Horse, Braidwood | Tickets
Thur April 7th | Moruya Golf Club, Moruya | Tickets
Fri April 8th | Murrah Hall, Murrah | Tickets
Sat April 9th | Bulli Heritage Hotel, Bulli with Melting Mamas | Tickets
April 16th – 17th | Leeton SunRice Festival | Tickets
Fri April 22nd | Bellingen Showgrounds, Bellingen | Tickets
Sat 23rd | New England Regional Arts Museum, Armidale | Tickets
Fri April 29th | Lazybones Lounge, Sydney | Tickets
A glorious afro-funk celebration that crosses dub-funk hip-hop and Ethiopian jazz, Mister Ott are finally heading out to jazz rooms and dancehalls throughout NSW after realising their third album in 202. This is what you need to shake the last two years off. Their music merges mesmerising eastern sounds, tight jazz funk, hypnotic grooves with melismatic horn lines and high calibre ecstatic solos.
Band leader Matthew Ottignon is a gun sax player/multi-instrumentalist with indisputable musical genes originally from Auckland, New Zealand, and now based in Sydney, Australia. With an enviably busy diary including a mix of performance, composition and education, Matthew is one of Australia’s hardest working musicians. He creates sounds that spring from everywhere he’s been and everything he’s seen… music that’s undoubtedly earning him a place among the key constituents of the contemporary scene.
With a keen ear and an expansive range of musical experiences, Matthew’s original compositions comprise an amalgamation of melodies from many lands, in particular Ethiopian music, aligned with the free-form improvisation and syncopation for which African-pedigreed jazz is renowned. Mister Ott has three releases, the most recent being ‘In The Flow’ 2021.
The band features the trumpet of award winning composer Ellen Kirkwood, the sought-after guitar of Ben Panucci, master keyboardist Daniel Pliner, the incredible bass playing of Dave Symes, and influential drummer Carlos Adura.
Mister Ott will be touring regional NSW in 2022.
Stayed tuned for updates.