Releases

Mister Ott’s second album ‘Single Shot’ sees the band expand their Ethiojazz sound to incorporate psychedelic guitars, reverb-drenched horns, intergalactic keys, and a crunchy drum/bass combo. The result is a mesmerising marriage of eastern sounds, tight jazz/funk instrumentation, and hypnotic dance grooves with a psychedelic edge. The music blends native melodies with improvisation for which Afro-jazz is renowned.

Sure to be enjoyed by fans of Anderson .Paak, badbadnotgood, Mulatu Astatke and Fela Kuti alike.

Compostions by Ottignon (2,4,5,7)

Ottignon, Pliner (1)

Ottignon, Pliner, Panucci (3)

Ottignon, Pliner, Kirkwood (6)

Recorded by Richie Belkner at F.E.D. August 2016

Mixed by Damien Charles

Mastered by Kathy Naunton

Artwork and design by Ella Egidy

Produced by Matthew Ottignon

Matthew Ottignon - Tenor and Baritone sax

Ellen Kirkwood - Trumpet

Daniel Pliner - Keys

Ben Panucci - Guitar

Eden Ottignon - Bass

Carlos Adura - Drums and Percussion (1-6)

Dan Kennedy - Drums (7)

Jazz Australia

by Daniel Rorke (Sydney)

Matthew and Eden Ottignon’s latest project, Single Shot, is electric music for ebullient ears; seven tracks of serious vibe. Saxophonist and bassist respectively, the brothers have put together a band here that it may well be socially irresponsible to book on weeknights.

Inevitably the African influences will likely be the listener’s primary gateway into this music, but I would venture that there is actually a lot more going on here. For instance, Kirkwood’s trumpet keeps Miles close, yet her style is always hers alone as she digs down into the rhythm section to find a distinctive pocket and a personal phraseology. The surface gestures may at times allude to other music, but rapidly what is revealed is an unremitting personal framework on which those gestures stand. This much is, to a great extent, similarly applicable to the recording as a whole.

There is also a good deal of Jazz history-and indeed beyond-informing all of the ensemble work. The combined timbre and articulation of the horns for fleeting moments reminds me as much of Joe Henderson and Lee Morgan as it does of Fela Kuti’s or Tony Allen’s various groups. When working together, the horns are always in accord, but not so uniform that each player’s timbre doesn’t come through. I like that particularly, and considering the way the album is recorded I suspect that is something that is quite conscious. There is a similar sense of space and position among the rhythm section members, whom are unrelenting in their momentum.

The writing is intriguing and unfailingly develops. Never is there a dull moment or repetition without a trajectory. I have heard and participated in “Jazz-musicians-play-Afro-Beat” before, and am wary of a certain flatness that can come with rendering a music that the players are not deeply and personally invested in as individual improvisers, no matter how competent. This isn’t that. These musicians know who they are, where they are, what they are doing and why, and you can hear it. The compositions are imbued with many subtle insinuations toward a seeming plethora of quite personal musical nuances, yet the music always stays equally firmly rooted in the pulse, and is never lost in navel ruminations or posturing.

This is not Afro Beat music, with Jazz on board for the ride, or vice versa. This is these cats, and they are bringing their thing. It is unique and it is present.

Single Shot is the sort of recording you are going to want on vinyl. If I were a club DJ I would buy this in an instant. This has that sort of mojo. I want to crank it up really loud, so loud that I wont even hear my neighbours banging on my door to complain.

Written In Music – 3.5 stars (Holland)

by Philippe De Cleen

A fan of Anderson Paak, BadBadNotGood, Mulate Astatke or Fela Kuti? Then you can also turn an ear to Mr Ott. With Single Shot they bring the follow-up to Drop It Like It’s Ott (2015). The Sydney based tenor- and [bari]saxophonist behind Mr Ott, Matt Ottignon loves Ethiopian music, much like our own Black Flower. His tastes also draw him to jazz, fifties and sixties soul, and on Single Shot there are influences to be hear from the Afro-futurism of Herbie Hancock and the space-jazz of the likes of Nik Turner.

The result is fittingly unique and we want to bring it to your attention. Eastern sounds, mixed with jazz, funk, groove and psychedelia. Here you have the recipe for a beautiful album that regrettably fell under the mainstream radar.

Like many of us, Ottignon was intrigued by the exceptional compilation series Ethiopiques. A meeting with the Ethiopian singer Dereb Dalesegn and a trip to that country sealed a love that is perhaps undying. Just as on the preceding Drop It’s Like Ott, on Single Shot we get a broad crew (Ottignon and Peter Farrar on sax, Ellen Kirkwood on trumpet, Daniel Pliner on keys, Ben Panucci on guitar, Eden Ottignon on bass, and Carlos Adura and Dan Kennedy on drums and percussion) that draw the most delicious music out of the instruments.

Mr Ott ceaselessly disseminates a positive humanism that you have to get behind. And that is just one of the many elements that make it worthwhile discovering this band. For example, the sound is fresh and modern, even as the collective often roots itself in much older (jazz) traditions.

It is also attractive that this crew give themselves the creative freedom that they need. And it pays off. For example, the fusion-tinted Blood Sky initially sounds quite idle, but focusses immediately on warmth thanks to sensual horns like sax and trumpet. Add to that all kinds of strange rhythmic twist, and the whole band merges into a vibing and compelling sound spectacle, in the manner that bands like Cinematic Orchestra, Bonobo, and artists such as DJ Shadow can.

Tempo and momentum are employed on tracks like Heroic Easy. And that by a high-musicianship band, which does lean heavily on an Ethio-jazz sound, but injected with new sounds (such as drum & bass) or with crisp funk, such as on Snakebite.

One of the high-points, placed neatly in the middle of the album, is the drawn-out Dragon Majesty, which is at least a much of party and the title suggest. And the blissfully grooving title-track Single Shot and the very hit-flavoured Shakedown that leads to booty-shaking and doesn’t disappoint in the least. With these sorts of overpoweringly, extremely adventurous tracks there can be no doubt that this collective sends concert halls into every kind of frenzy.

The real high point is at the end. The eleven-plus-minutes Space Will Win, which starts slowly, takes the listener on a lounge-y, and above-all cosmic trip way out there, in this psychedelia and ethio-jazz saturated adventure. Fans of Anderson Paak, BadBadNotGood, Mulate Astatke and Fela Kuti, do yourself a favour.

EASTSIDE RADIO ALBUM REVIEW (Sydney)

by Melanie Christodoulou (Eastside Music Director/ presenter of Take One)

It’s a great pleasure to bring in the new year with this review of Single Shot by Sydney’s own Mister Ott, the follow up to their debut album. There is no sign of the dreaded second album funk accustomed to the trade, as bandleader Matthew Ottignon and co. revitalise their infectious Ethio Jazz soundscape with a dash of 70s psychedelic rock. To get the downsides out of the way early (of which I can only find one) there are only seven tracks, and this is defiantly an album you’ll want to hear again. It’s opener, Blood Sky, is unassuming, etherial, spacious and funk-laden. The approach allows fans to comfortably adjust to the latest ingredient to disrupt their signature mix of jazz-meets-funk-meets-hip-hop-meets-dancehall-meets-reggae, heard ever so faintly in the guitar riffs of one Ben Panucci. Its lead single and title track begins in much the same way, however it truly is a lesson in how to build, layer and develop tension.

Single Shot takes a minimalist approach to open, the drums and bass mimicking each other with only a faint echo of guitar embellishing their funky rhythmic pattern. The keys, guitar and horns then trade places in the spotlight, each time returning with a heavier and thicker interpretation than the next. The song crescendos towards a dense cacophony of brass bass and frantic drums. It only sees release as the reverb-soaked guitar echo gains dominance over it’s counterparts, simply fading into the silence moments later. On a completely different spectrum is Shakedown, an intergalactic number just in time for Treky fans enjoying the latest instalment of Star Wars. Some beautiful suspensions played through the catalyst of a synthesiser form the foundation for an uplifting and light hearted addition to the album. The piece’s engine room, featuring drummer Carlos Adura, isn’t given a moment’s rest in providing the driving rhythms for the piece. Only towards the end does it feel like Adura catches a break as some pronounced syncopation hijacks the rhythm of the piece, ironically more complex from a player’s point of view, however giving the listener the impression that the structure is falling apart from exhaustion.

This is only the beginning of what you can expect from Mister Ott’s latest. There is defiantly something for the fans however not to the detriment of creativity. The psych element revitalises their sound for the new year and only goes to highlight both the talent of the band and the flexibility that their mix of genres allow for such a sonic exploration. Having been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this album in all of its live music glory, I for one can’t wait to be able to hear it in full in 2017.

BMA Magazine CD Reviews 4 STARS (Canberra)

by Thomas Spillane

Mister Ott is the brainchild of Sydney-based saxophonist Matt Ottignon. Capitalising on vast inspiration he found touring Ethiopia, the New Zealand-born musician assembled some of Sydney’s best jazz players to form something else entirely.

Led by Ottignon’s saxophone, the sextet seamlessly blend together to create a psychedelic dimension of funky jazz sounds. Drummer, Dan Kennedy, and bassist, Eden Ottignon, lay down thick beats on each track that bring to mind Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 jazz/funk opus To Pimp A Butterfly. From there pianist, Daniel Pliner, and guitarist, Ben Panucci, weave soft and melodic timbres in and out of each other, finally leaving room for saxophonist, Ottignon, and trumpeter, Ellen Kirkwood, to inject their blazing horns across the final sonic layer.

Musically, Mister Ott moves like a dashing insect that you just can’t pin under your thumb. They not only draw inspiration from Ethiopian jazz, but meld this effortlessly with ‘50s/‘60s funk, soul and culture in general. The title track, with its anticipating bass and cheeky brass lines, sounds like it could have been a discarded theme song from a ‘60s Bond film. ‘Snakebite’ is the most modern sounding track on the album with Pliner’s opening synth reminiscent of an ‘80s arcade game. However, this soon gives way to Panucci’s creeping guitar which sounds lifted from a Sergio Leone spaghetti-western.

The musicianship on Single Shot is utterly flawless. This enables Mister Ott to become limitless in their style and influence. Single Shot is the repackaging of a vast array of influences into an instrumental album that never tires.

Mos Esley Music blog

by Mos Esiley

Matt Ottignon is the main man behind Australia’s grooving jazz outfit Mister Ott. Together with a talented group of musicians he just released “Single Shot”, the second album by the group which is packed with a brand of jazz that draws influences from Ethiopia with a unique psychedelic twist.

What certainly stands out are the infectours rhythms which range from mulatuesque stompers to uptempo afrobeat shakers. But “Single Shot” is also about building and breaking down of arrangements and atmospheres. “Space Will Win”, the ending track, is a tunes that will take you on one of those journeys where psychedelic keys and spacy sounds suck the listener in and slowly build to an impressive jam along lines of simple melodies.

Echoes and Dust (London) – online music website

by Stuart Benjamin

Here we are then at the arse end of the year, so the least we can do in 2016 is try and go out on something of a high. Sydney’s Mister Ott – signed to the exemplary Art As Catharsis label and led by the titular Matthew Ottignon are just the right kind of antidote you need for a year that has – in the opinion of all great thinkers and philosophers – gone tits up.

Flippant I may be – but in times when insularity, suspicion of ‘the other’, hate crimes, and racism all seem to be on the increase, Ottignon and his band of hip cats have recorded an expansive album that embraces world music and culture, that looks forward positively to a global society where unity, rather than division, are the main virtues of humanity. 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.

This in itself would be enough for many, but the seven tracks on this record also take in Nik Turner style space-jazz (particularly his Space Fusion Odyssey which we reviewed last year) and the regimented fastidiousness of Fela Kuti or Steely Dan. Yes, there’s a touch of acid-jazz – that much maligned and mostly forgotten movement of the late 1990s but – god damn – you really want to get up and dance to this record. Stick it on at New Year’s Eve after a few drinks and see what happens (and send me pictures).

Starting with the musicianship – it’s near faultless – the interplay between Ottignon’s saxes and Ellen Kirwood’s Trumpet is a wonderful thing to hear when they go at it full bore – recalling, if you will, the heady jazz-funk experimentalism of Eddie Henderson. Daniel Pilner’s organ and Ben Panucci’s guitars provide plenty of spaced-out effects and trickery to keep the most jaded space-head happy, while Eden Ottignon’s bass is rock-solid throughout, providing not just the foundations of each track, but imbued with a great amount of P-Funk flare. There are a number of Bootsy Collins albums, no doubt, nestling in his collection somewhere. Finally, on more than one occasion do percussionist-drummers Carlos Adura and Dan Kennedy prove that they have a touch of the Billy Cobhams about them, there’s no doubting that they know their way around a kit – and then some. While these musicians are giving us a masterclass we should also give a nod to the production, making full use of the aural space with a terrific wall of sound.

Each track is upbeat and drenched in cosmic energy – from the hedonistic promise of the night in the opener ‘Blood Sky’ to the syncopated reggae blitz of ‘Dragon Majesty’ through to the closing Sun-Ra hat-tip ‘Space Will Win’, we’re drawn very willingly into a world where jazz-fusion rules, and where it becomes very difficult to believe that this album was made in 2016 rather than 1976. Standing out for me are the epic-workouts of ‘Snakebite’ and ‘Shakedown’, powerhouses of tracks that hit light speed early on and suck you along with them.

It’s all too short, and over too quickly in my opinion – but you won’t wear it out from repeated listening. I’d also say you really mustn’t pass by the opportunity to hear this music. Single Shot is certainly a strong contender for one of this year’s better jazz releases, has a great deal of crossover appeal, and transcends the genres from which it was born, and by which it was influenced.

I think you’ll love it.

In Other Words 4zzz Album Reviews (Brisbane radio)

by Nic Addenbrooke

Most people are gonna have trouble picking out the distinction, but Mr Ott calls itself ethio-jazz, or is at least largely inspired by Matthew Ottignon’s travels with Dereb the Ambassador and the work of Mulatu Astatke, the ostensible father of the genre. While it shares a lot of the same cultural antecedents, it’s very much a western creature, not world music exactly, but a new world amalgamation that feels more akin to BADBADNOTGOOD’s gap year in Addis Ababa than something more traditional.

As ever in this kind of category, your enjoyment of instrumental cadent drift will power your intake of the album. Much of Single Shot has a tumbling kineticism that harkens back to some of the finest examples of camp ’60’s cinema title sequencing. As fun as that sounds, there’s an almost ingrained futility in being able to invoke an image without putting purpose to it.

At times it’s easy to start wishing there was more variation, but that’s at odds with something that’s predicated on a melismatic structure, the extended build of minute variations riffing on a central theme. Each track does contain its own small quirks, like the almost chip tune deviations that bookend Snakebite or the percussive bedrock that lies under Dragon Majesty, but they’re each mildly obscured by their own main purpose. Even the album closer, Space Will Win, which leans into an almost odyssean preamble that seems most promisingly different, simply takes twice as long as the rest to get there.

In spite of this, or perhaps specifically because of the hypnotic recidivism in its construction, Single Shot is hugely engaging if you surrender to it. Clever, confident, and nuanced in the same way as a colour gradient moving from pink to fuchsia. You can get swept up in it, but you have to be open to the trancelike inundation of African inspired syncopation and the soft melismatic swell of musical minutiae. That or just put it on in the background while you clean the house.

Can This Even Be Called Music
by Daev Tremblay

On November twenty-fourth, Art as Catharsis’ new pupils, Mister Ott, will be releasing their album, Single Shot. The jazz full-length has quite heavy influences of psychedelic rock and Middle-Eastern traditional music. It’s a funky, delightful release that only adds to Art as Catharsis’ heap of incredible releases! A must have.