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Iris Ornig

Bassist & composer Iris Ornig is one of the most original female voices on today's New York jazz scene. Since her arrival in New York City in 2003 from Germany, she has played with an impressive roster of some of the most influential contemporary jazz musicians in New York including Gretchen Parlato, Ambrose Akinmusire, Joel Frahm, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mike Rodriguez, Rebecca Martin, Allison Miller, Sachal Vasandani, Helen Sung, Marcus Gilmore, Dan Tepfer, among others.

Ornig is a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer, arranger and a charismatic performer.

Her compositions are swinging, stormy, melodic, sensitive, playful, angular and straight-ahead with plenty of twists and surprises.

Iris studied jazz and popular music in St. Gallen Switzerland and went from there to the well-known Guildhall School in Music and Drama in London to establish her musical skills.

She has performed at jazz clubs and festivals all over the United States, Europe and East Africa. She can be heard regularly at NYC’s top jazz clubs such as Blue Note, 55 Bar, Iridium, Zinc Bar and Kitano. Iris Ornig is hosting every Monday the jam session at the Kitano - one of the best jazz clubs in New York City.

Iris Ornig finished her second album ‘No Restrictions’ featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mike Rodriguez, Helen Sung and Marcus Gilmore.

Applauded for its fresh, of the moment compositions, “No Restrictions” highlights the members of the Iris Ornig quintet: Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Helen Sung on piano and Marcus Gilmore on drums in a mixed program of eight straight-ahead and contemporary jazz originals and two carefully-chosen covers.

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Radio & Podcasts

Listeners' Recent Faves

Read "Listeners' Recent Faves" reviewed by Marc Cohn


Listeners' favorites this week from shows 381 to 390! Lots of 'pop' covers tickled your fancy this time around, along with a trip to jny: New Orleans and the usual dose of grits & gravy. Enjoy the show. And, no, we haven't abandoned Blue Note 50th anniversary salutes (yet:); they will be featured next week. Thanks for listening and your support. Saluting our top listeners of the week in: Strasbourg (France), Mar Del Plata (Argentina), Kiev (Ukraine), Belgrade ...

3
Album Review

Iris Ornig: No Restrictions

Read "No Restrictions" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Intrepid bassist Iris Ornig's second release follows the thematic structure of her remarkable debut, New Ground (Self Produced, 2009), but is more polished and coherent, hence more engaging. This is a hard goal to achieve, as the first was a thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating album. If New Ground was a collection of short stories sharing a common thesis then No Restrictions is a novel, exploring a similar leitmotif and expanding on it. The emphasis is more on ...

434
Album Review

Iris Ornig: New Ground

Read "New Ground" reviewed by Jim Santella


Double-bassist Iris Ornig leads a mainstream ensemble on New Ground, controlling the session's mood from the bottom and ensuring that melody flows casually. Trumpet, guitar and vocalists alternate feature roles that give the session variety. Best is her trio on “Caravan," where the bass assumes a seat-of-the-pants foundation that energizes and dresses up an old standard with class.

Trumpet and guitar come together on “New Ground" to give the quintet stepwise depth and rainbow harmony. Each instrumental voice ...

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"...great music that keeps me smiling!" - Bubba Jackson, Host / Breakfast With Bubba / KKJZ, Los Angeles

"I absolutely love this CD. It has intelligent, creative arrangements with a diversity that provides interests for a wide spectrum of jazz fans. It is so great to discover someone new to bring a freshness to the sound of radioIO. The tracks of "New Ground" will be on the front burner of radioIO REAL Jazz for a long time.” - Michael Matheny, Program Director & Host / radioIO REAL Jazz

"Great stuff!" - Bob Cochran, Jazz Director / WMPG - Portland, ME “This album is a nice surprise

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Primary Instrument

Bass

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Electric and Accoustic Bass, Harmony, Arranging, Improvisation

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Storyteller

Iris Ornig Music
2018

buy

No Restrictions

Self Produced
2012

buy

No Reservations

Self Produced
2012

buy

New Ground

Self Produced
2009

buy

Storyteller

From: Storyteller
By Iris Ornig

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