News - Updated 15/12/2005

Critics quotes/reviews

'The New Zealand pianist Aron Ottignon was inspired as a youngster by Maori rhythms. In his neck of the woods an American jazz musician was a rarity, so he worked out his own approach to jazz inspired by records and the culture around him. His 1999 appearance at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, Australia’s leading jazz event, was the stuff of legend. “Aron was an unknown quantity when he made the finals of the National Jazz Awards at Wangaratta in 1999,” recalled Adrian Jackson, the Festival’s artistic director. “Nobody expected a 16-year old from New Zealand to play with such absolute confidence and energy and poise. I think it was obvious to everyone that a major new talent had arrived.” Six years on, Ottignon’s style is quite unique and he is now serving notice that he has the potential to become one of the finest pianists in jazz.'
Stuart Nicholson, The Observer Music Monthly, November 2005

"Ottignon is a world-class musician. His brand of testosterone-fuelled, Rachmaninov-goes-jazz playing will take your breath away." - Edinburgh Festival Review, The Scotsman, 2003

"His original style and Musical Intelligence is matched with an explosive technical ability. His breathtaking solos are edge-of-the-seat stuff." - The Sydney Morning Herald, 2002

"Ottignon at his most soulful and most virtuosic simultaneously."
The Sydney Morning Herald, 2002

"The wildly bucking ride he offered on his own 'chiseled teeth', while his AK DOV was the nights highlight; a tear away anthem which the young composer's solo brought shuddering to a climax." - Sydney Morning Herald, 2002

"Aron Ottignon is a piano player to marvel at." - Sydney Morning Herald, 2002

"Jazz Prodigy." - Sun-Herald, 2002

"Jazz Wizard." - Sunday Telegraph, 2002