Key players from Sydney's burgeoning improvised music scene transported to Cafe OTO for the evening including Blip - the duo of Australian improv figurehead Jim Denley and bass player Mike Majkowski - and bass player Sam Pettigrew.

JIM DENLEY

"At 52, saxophonist and flautist Jim Denley is Australia's most important improvising musician, similar in spirit to Ross Bolleter in that his creative language both recognises the symbolic import of colonial detritus ... and also the essential irrelevance of both European art music and American jazz to the Australasian experience... Denley has applied himself to a naturalistic idiom on saxophone and flute that makes Eric Dolphy's moves in that same direction seem tentative." - Brian Morton, The WIRE MAGAZINE, June 2009.

Jim Denley's work emphasises spontaneity, site-specificity and collaboration - he sees no clear distinctions between his roles as instrumentalist, improviser and composer. He studied in Tokyo with shakuhachi master Yamaguchi Goro and has performed with countless musicians in Australia and abroad including Oren Ambarchi, Robbie Avenaim, Clayton Thomas, Tony Buck, Ross Bolleter, Kim Myhr, John Butcher, Chris Burn, Rik Rue, Marcio Mattos, Derek Bailey, Axel Dörner, Phil Wachsmann, Otomo Yoshihide and many more...

MIKE MAJKOWSKI

Mike Majkowski began work as a jazz bassist in Sydney, and has developed an active interest in a wide spectrum of music, focusing on improvisation. He is a member of the large scale Sydney-based electro-acoustic improv group, 'the splinter orchestra,' and has worked closely with Jon Rose, Chris Abrahams, Jim Denley, and the nownow improvised music collective.



BLIP

Blip is the duo of Mike Majkowski (bass) and Jim Denley (wind instruments). They formed in 2008 having both been members of Sydney's legendary upstart improv ensemble The Splinter Orchestra since 2002.

Photo by Lucien Alperstein



“calibrated, while exploring sound material richly and profoundly, is nevertheless musical, sensitive, intense, strong and compelling. Recommended!” - Improv Sphere

“It is impossible not to appreciate that the music-making undertaken on Calibrated is part of a rich and ongoing conversation between two of Australia's most engaging improv artists.” Gail Priest - Real Time.



SAM PETTIGREW

Sam Pettigrew (born 1989) is an emerging double bassist/musician/performer from Sydney whose commitment to the act of improvisation and the exploration of his instrument has pushed him to the forefront of Sydney’s contemporary improvised music scene. He is currently a co-director and curator of The NOW now festival and series since 2009. Current musical projects include; Embedded (with Jim Denley, Monica Brooks & Rishin Singh), Misty’s Gym (Duo with Mike Majkowski), Bass+Synth Duo with Chris Abrahams, Bass+Electronics Duo with Ben Byrne, Przemilczec (performance art/music duo with Maria White), Lines Of Flight (Jazz quartet w/Joe Cummins, Casey Golden & Alex Slater), The Splinter Orchestra.

Recently Sam has been focusing on a new method of solo bass playing incorporating performativity, fluxus inspired events and happenings, electronics, silence and audience interactions. Sam has also worked with a large number of dancers and performers, as both a sound/music person and a performer.

Double Bass Solo Pt.2 7/1/12 from Sam Pettigrew on Vimeo.