We’re continuing our monthly residency into 2025, but we’ve switched to every 1st Thursday of the month!

If you’re sad that your New Year’s festivities are over… no they’re not! Come have a boogie with us ;)

Free entry too!

Spectra Jazz Orchestra will be playing at the fabulous Jazz in the Park event at Gladstone Park in Balmain. It’ll be a glorious summertime celebration of jazz and community, and it’s free! Spectra is on at 3pm, but check out the whole schedule as incredible groups Microfiche, Jiem and the Steve Hunter Band will also be playing.

https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/explore/whats-on/annual-events/jazz-in-the-park

Boogie on down to Mister Ott’s hypnotic grooves at the ultra-hip Caterpillar Club in the CBD. Free entry, tasty bevvies, tastier beats.

92 Pitt St, Sydney.

Some of your favourite local bands are coming together to support Headspace (National Youth Mental Health Foundation).

An amazing line-up of bands are locked in to play Friday November 29th at Petersham Bowling Club:

Lord Esme, Whopping Big Naughty, On The Stoop, and The After Thoughts

18+ only.

All proceeds go to Headspace.

https://events.humanitix.com/headspace-fundraiser?hxchl=hex-pfl

Goodness gracious, three whole bands? THESE three whole bands on the one lineup? Yep.

https://www.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/lvl-1-on-the-stoop-fabulous-contraption-dave-sattout-quartet/172180?ref=RSS_Lazyboneslounge&skin=lazybones

This will be quite an out-of-the-ordinary event. Building Song is a project that has had two previous iterations, in Camperdown and Portland. I’m honoured to be part of it this time.

The performance at midday on Saturday October 26th will be the culmination of a two week residency in which myself and a group of artist-performers of varying disciplines collaborate with the buildings and surrounding grounds at Bondi Pavillion to create an immersive work.

The performance is free to attend, however we are raising money to help make our performance memorable and our residency fruitful. To donate, and read more about the project and past performances, visit this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/building-song-bondi-pavilion

EK & the Ekstraordinaires are back for our very 3rd gig, at the rowdy Townie! 3 horns, bass and drums, bringing you upbeat and danceable numbers - some reimagined Fat Yahoozah tunes, and a couple of covers.

Ellen Kirkwood - trumpet

Melissa Mony - tenor sax

Lee Orszaczky - trombone

Sarah Homeh - bass

Alex Masso - drums

https://townhallhotelnewtown.com/event/GSSQJ

Hear Fat Yahoozah here: https://fatyahoozah.bandcamp.com/album/i-dont-care

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 - Dynamic youth ensemble Spectra Jazz Orchestra are back at the Inner West’s favourite music venue, Lazybones!

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐳 𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 is an initiative for young women and gender diverse musicians which builds a bridge between music education on the secondary and tertiary levels, into the professional music world. As the wider jazz community consists predominantly of male musicians, Spectra also empowers and creates a supportive space for its members to grow as musicians. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙖𝙯𝙯 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙟𝙖𝙯𝙯-𝙖𝙙𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝘼𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘. Spectra has been running since 2016 and has performed at some of Sydney’s favourite jazz joints, such as Lazybones, Camelot, the Red Rattler and more, and festivals including the International Women’s Jazz Festival, Manly Jazz Festival and Marrickville Music Festival. At this performance they’ll be bringing you 2 sets of vibrant works by mostly Australian composers, including works by band members, as well as some familiar favourites.

Spectra Jazz Orchestra is:

Saxophones: Elise Nordon, Damia O’Loughlin, Emma Chau, Sam Cheng

Trumpets: Tash Benham, Sophia Hunt, Liv Diamant, Amy Crawford

Trombones: Maya Lecuna, Romy Dobbie, Rafiya Macpherson, Teagan Day

Guitar: Gabby Coelho

Piano: Hazel Alexander

Bass: Beth Roche

Drums: Sophia Stanton

Director: Ellen Kirkwood

Band co-ordinator: Kate Richards

https://www.spectrajazzorchestra.com.au/
https://spectrajazzorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/supernova
Instagram: @spectrajazzorchestra

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 is a 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙠/𝙋𝙤𝙥 group made up of friends who met each other while studying Jazz at the Conservatorium of Music. Their shared love of funk brought them together while still retaining their Jazz influences. The band seamlessly blends old and new favourites and turns them into a night of high energy fun that gets everyone on their feet! This hot new band is excitingly moving funk forward with original tunes written by bandleader Hazel Alexander, as well as covers from The Carpenters to Katy Perry.

6pm Doors/ Restaurant
7pm Bands

https://moshtix.com.au/v2/event/s/171405

Mister Ott continues our residency at the heaps cool underground Caterpillar Club in the Sydney CBD. You don’t have to pay to see this gig, so grab a fancy drink instead, and have a boogie!

We play 9-11pm.

https://swillhouse.com/venues/the-caterpillar-club/

Underwards returns to Monday Night Confessions! We love playing in this gorgeous space, as part of this wonderful series of curated original Australian jazz.

We will be playing alongside another group (TBC).

Entry is $25/$15 (concession).

https://events.humanitix.com/host/monday-night-confessions

Mister Ott continues our monthly residency at the Caterpillar Club in Sydney’s CBD! It’s free entry and a great atmosphere.

Address: 92 Pitt St, Sydney

Ellen Kirkwood's dynamic project Underwards returns a year after their gorgeous performance at JSJ for their album launch. The quartet's tour last year was a great success, bringing their unique music to new audiences who revelled in Underwards' rich musical stories of places and experiences in nature. Having recently delved into new material Kirkwood has composed as part of her PhD, they'll be presenting works inspired by places in Dharug and Wiradjuri Countries, and relationships she is building with these places over time.

Ellen Kirkwood - trumpet
Hilary Geddes - guitar
Nick Henderson - electric bass, synths
Alex Inman-Hislop - drums

“Deeply sensitive, intellectually inquisitive, modern and of today. Underwards is breaking the jazz coma.”
- Eric Pozza, Canberra Jazz Blog
“Beauty blended with visceral excitement” - John Shand and Annabel Ross, Sydney Morning Herald

BOOK TIX HERE

Mister Ott returns to the ultra-trendy and lush Caterpillar Club in the CBD! They’re so cool they don’t even advertise gigs, people just show up! Wild. Anyway here’s their website.

https://swillhouse.com/venues/the-caterpillar-club/

The gig is free. If you haven’t heard Mister Ott, then you should! Go look up our music, and come to the gig!

Who needs a rhythm section anyway?
Late in 2022 Ellen Kirkwood assembled this group of stellar improvisers, each with their own cool and impressive things going on, for a performance of experimental compositions and improvisations. Bringing together the unique ideas and approaches of each player, expect 2 sets of fascinating explorations stretching beyond the sounds you might expect from a bunch of jazz horn players, and without pesky drums and amplified instruments getting in the way!

Ellen Kirkwood - trumpet, things
Phillippa Murphy-Haste - clarinet, viola
Paul Cutlan - saxophones
Lee Orszaczky - trombone

BOOK TIX HERE

Inner West Council are putting on a free launch event for their wonderful “Creative Town Halls” initiative, and have invited Mister Ott to bring the grooves.

MORE INFO HERE

The Townie, a stalwart of the Newtown scene, a landmark and a familiar drinking destination for most people I know. Not really the venue you’d expect to hear a band like Underwards, but I enjoy forcing the unexpected upon innocent pub patrons. I wonder if they’ll like us. Anyway, it’s free and we’ve got new-ish material. So come enjoy the spectacle! https://townhallhotelnewtown.com/event/ABO5W

2 SHOWS! A matinee and an evening show! Don’t miss this epic celebration of Elefant Traks; a never-happening-again gathering of a phenomenal bunch of hip-hop stars. Go get em tiger. https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2024/elefant-traks/

The second huge extravaganza gig for the closure of the hip-hop mega label will be at the Tivoli, in Brisbane. It’s gonna be massive, fun, exciting, emotional and badass. https://thetivoli.com.au/events/elefant-traks

I’m told this is a really cool venue and I know from 12 years of being in it that Mister Ott is a really cool band. There’s nothing on the website yet due to us only being booked for the gig the night before this night I’m writing this. It’s at 92 Pitt St in Sydney’s CBD. You might just have to go to this website closer to the date for more details: https://swillhouse.com/venues/the-caterpillar-club/

The hugely successful Australian hip-hop label is closing down after an incredible 25 years, and they’re going out with a bang, and a band. A live 7-piece band that I’m in charge of. Sadly the gig is sold out so I’m just writing this blurb to show off. https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/vivid-live/elefant-traks-finale

Book your tix here!

High energy performances and genre-defying music

ON THE STOOP - From the beating heart of Sydney’s Inner West come On The Stoop.
The 6-piece band are known for their high energy performances and genre-defying music.
Described by festival goers as The Clash meets Frank Zappa, On The Stoop manage to pack their love of all things punk, free-jazz, spaghetti-western, latin and Devo into their sound.
They are subversive, uncompromising, challenging and always satisfyingly riotous.
Formed by a clarinet player who secretly wanted to play punk rock guitar, this group keeps on electrifying dancefloor audiences at every show.
On The Stoop has recently been touring nationally, performing at Woodford Folk Festival, The Cobargo Folk Festival and Majors Creek Festival.
The recent release "Hard Town", a love song to Sydney, premiered on Fbi in Sydney and 2RRR in Melbourne. 

THE VALENTITANIC TRIO  - This neat trio wot has four people in it because the man can’t tell us how many people equals a trio called The Valentitanic Trio with Josh, Mike, Alia and Tim, and boy howdy do they make some weird music! It’s kind of what they think jazz should be. A music without boundaries like time and pitch.

5pm Doors/Restaurant 🍷 🥘
6.30pm Bands

Underwards is back! After a bit of a hiatus we’re playing at Ms Kitteridge & Bok Choy for the first time. At this gig we’ll be premiering some brand new pieces that have come out of my PhD project.

Info can be found here: https://livingroomtheatre.org/events/underwards/

I direct the UNSW Jazz Orchestra, and they’re performing a concert alongside the wonderful Balkan Ensemble, on April 18th at the Io Myers Studio, UNSW.

All details can be found here - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/balkan-ensemble-jazz-orchestra-tickets-868123780597

My friend and musical collaborator from past projects, Alon Ilsar, plus audio-visual and software artist Matthew Hughes have been doing a residency at Petersham Town Hall to develop new works with local artists. Together we have created a short work which will be presented at this event amongst other works with local artists.

https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/live/living-arts/edge/edge-inner-west-2024/edge-town-hall-takeover/alon-ilsar?fbclid=IwAR07qqWoEqsiYoH3-MEyNaJUZKsZ9d5XfqQiZCZaEBvKALuzwyjnM7FctGg_aem_AYvbI6EbnY76ZR-UTFT3cSc-92M9GfscWc4mzgDhIKq2F5egYTEF87pwzjwDkkSM7lr60dABSBx9wrsd0VJm56-Z

MISTER OTT - Popping jazz/funk and hypnotic grooves
Acclaimed saxophonist Matthew Ottignon fronts this Sydney outfit merging mesmerising Eastern sounds, tasty horn melodies, tight and popping jazz/funk and hypnotic grooves that drift on the edge of psychedelia.
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.
“The friendliest possible party vibe, making you feel like you’ve returned to a familiar neighbourhood where the whole street loves you.”
Sydney Morning Herald ****

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1145491