The Greasy Chicken Orchestra – Wednesday, 13th of September 2023:
Saxophonist Phillip Johnston’s latest release I Cakewalked With A Zombie (Earshift 081) features his miniature repertory orchestra The Greasy Chicken Orchestra.
This performance, and tomorrow night’s, (Mingus Amongst Us) are also a mini-celebration of the mini-jazz orchestra across Wednesday and Thursday nights. Throughout the history of Jazz, the ‘little big band’ tradition has produced some of the most exciting music across styles and generations. Think of the Duke Ellington’s Washingtonians, the John Kirby Sextet, Tadd Dameron’s and Gil Evans’s miniature orchestras, the larger Mingus bands, and in Australia: Ten Part Invention. They combine the power and excitement of the big band with the virtuosity and flexibility of a small jazz ensemble. These two fine contemporary examples of this format have been regularly holding court at Foundry 616 for years now: Greasy Chicken Orchestra and Mingus Amongst Us.
Sydney-based saxophonist/composer and New York ex-pat Phillip Johnston lead the 8-piece miniature repertory ensemble, The Greasy Chicken Orchestra, through innovative arrangements of jazz of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as his original music reflecting that musical language on their new release, I Cakewalked With a Zombie. This long-evolving project continues Johnston’s exploration of the history of orchestration and composition-focussed ensembles, such as The Microscopic Septet, Big Trouble, and The Silent Six.
The group consists of a four-saxophone front line and rhythm section, featuring leading jazz artists from Sydney. The music leaves room for individual expression of its unique soloists and aims to express a combination of freedom and discipline, a love of jazz history and creativity, and the infectious rhythm, mystery, and sheer joy of the jazz of this era.
“Johnston has always understood that jazz’s history is a rich resource rather than a liability, and with this band, he immerses himself almost completely in this era of energised and good-humored dance music. . . a nuanced and blended sonority, combined with an emphasis on pinpoint arrangements and concise solos.”
– John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald
Within that style, the repertoire traverses a wide variety of this rich time period, from New Orleans trad (Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong/Lil Hardin) to tight small ensemble arrangements (John Kirby Sextet) to the great early small big bands (Ellington, Don Redman), as well as modern arrangers, Forrester, Dasent & Johnston, which pay homage to the music of this era and turn it inside out.
And get a load of this line-up!
- Phillip Johnston: Soprano sax
- Chris O’Dea: Alto sax
- Tim Clarkson: Tenor sax
- Matt Ottignon: Baritone sax
- Peter Dasent: Piano
- Tim Rollinson: Guitar, banjo
- James Greening: Tuba
- Mike Quigley: Drums
