Talented pianist so good the Aussies try to claim him as their own

Aron Ottignon

A decade ago a new generation of young jazz musicians emerged in Auckland and captured the imagination of the clubbers and scene-makers. Among them were Nathan Haines and Mark De Clive Lowe, both of whom have gone on to prove themselves internationally.

Pianist Aron Ottignon was too young to catch that wave, and by the time he was 17 he had left these shores and was establishing himself in Sydney.

Ottignon barely had time to make a deep impression here although he did pick up some awards and attention, but he has blossomed across the Tasman where he has been hailed as a "jazz prodigy" (the Sun-Herald in 2002). The Sydney Morning Herald has long been championing him, and said, "His original style and musical intelligence is matched with an explosive technical ability. His breathtaking solos are edge-of-the-seat stuff."

Two years ago he picked up the Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year award, and has played to audiences in top Sydney clubs and at the Big Day Out. He has also taken his talents further afield: he played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2003 (and was comedian Greg Proops' musical director), and the following year performed in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He has played at Sydney's Fashion Week and at Russell Crowe's wedding.

With regular club and hotel residencies, and session work, Ottignon has rarely made it back to New Zealand to perform, but this week he makes a lightning strike around the Auckland region with his band Aronas.

For those who remember him only as the precocious kid who picked up the award for New Zealand's most outstanding young jazz musician under 25 (when he was 11), this is a chance to catch up with how he has developed. And he certainly casts his musical net wide.

"Ottignon is a world-class musician," said the Scotsman. "His brand of testosterone-fuelled, Rachmaninov-goes-jazz playing will take your breath away."

That's one way of putting it. But with Aronas, which boasts an unusual line-up of piano, bass and two percussionist/drummers, there are also some discreet elements of quasi-Polynesian rhythms at work alongside the funk, the delicate balladry, and the muscular Latin edges.

Aronas will launch their debut album Culture Tunnels at the Odeon on Friday night.

Ottignon might not have achieved the profile of Haines and De Clive Lowe, but he is among our finest jazz exports. He's so good, they call him an Australian over the Tasman.

Performance

* Who: Aron Ottignon
* What: Touring with the band Aronas
* Where: Deschlers Bar, High St, tomorrow; Odeon Lounge, Eden Tce, Friday; Barbarella Bar, Rotorua, Saturday; Leigh Sawmill Cafe, Sunday; Rakinos, High St, Tuesday.