Oceans Together - The Album
“Together, they put the listener in a state of ultra-awareness with their music, gentle in nature yet immersive in character” Frank Presley, FM 99.3
”Ginsburg is a very fine sax player, using both tenor and soprano instruments with a strong fluid tone and effortless control." Graham McDonald - Canberra CityNews
“... beautiful and intense music that communicates deep emotions”
Vittorio Mezza - Italy
“We hear the finest lines and hatching of sound...” Jazz'halo - Germany
Oceans Together can also be purchased from Birdland Records in Sydney.
Spotify
Apple Music
iTunes Store (for download)
Deezer
Amazon Music
Tidal
Bandcamp
* Pandora is not available in Australia but may be accessible from other countries.
Oceans Together is a collaboration between composers Mark GInsburg and Ryan Grogan, with bassist Brett Hirst and percussionist Fabian Hevia being integral co-creators.
The title, Oceans Together, reflects the varied shores, musical influences and social landscapes of the musicians. Each of these players has a rich background containing significant individual accomplishments, as well as a history of working together at different times over a few decades.
The project began at the outset of Covid with Ryan and Mark collaborating remotely during lockdown. As time progressed and the character of the music emerged, the desire grew to record together live, rather than over the wires. It took two years to achieve that goal.
The distinctive nature of the repertoire is one of delicacy, with beautiful and sometimes haunting melodic lines that embrace a certain vulnerability. The decision to use hand percussion, instead of the more usual format of a drum kit, propelled the composers further in this direction, adding to the sense of intimacy and space in the music. The result is a collection of contemplative, accessible and gentle musical experiences, with surprises that honour the importance of melody and harmony.
The album features Sydney-based, South African-born saxophonist Mark Ginsburg and pianist Ryan Grogan. The musical project of the two musicians revolves around the question of inspiration, which has to do with origin and also with intimacy. Completing the ensemble of the aforementioned musicians are bassist Brett Hirst and percussionist Fabian Hevia.
About the album we read: “The title, Oceans Together, reflects the varied shores, musical influences and social landscapes of the musicians. Each of these players has a rich background containing significant individual accomplishments, as well as a history of working together at different times over a few decades. The sound is very exposed - you can hear each note of every instrument - sonically there are no heavy drum sounds that compete with other instrument frequencies - the hand percussion is gentle, effective and subtle."
It took two years to realise the album. This was also related to the pandemic and the resulting isolation measures. The tenderness of the melodies is present from the first note. There is also something contemplative to discover in the pieces. The percussionist, who was deliberately used instead of a drummer, has also dedicated himself to the delicate sounds. The percussion is present but not intrusive, and accompanies the flow of sounds that the pianist develops on his piano, nothing more.
Ginsburg describes the album project with the following comments: "Our sound is quite different from other projects we have been involved in, particularly because we used hand percussion rather than a drum kit. Feedback from others indicates that the result is intimate, exposed, warm, sparse, you can hear each note, in a way its quite vulnerable. It has strains of the group Oregon (although unintended). The project has been fascinating because of the way we had to conceive the music in isolation and build on our ideas in an asynchronous manner (as opposed to being in the same room and working things out interactively)."
Sometimes one even thinks that Lars Danielsson with his Liberetto was the inspiration for part of the music. Note the opening piano sequences in "Indecision". The lyrical is characteristic here, also with reference to classical music of the neo-romantic period. The sounds of saxophone and piano merge, forming a kind of musical "ganache". "Subterfuge" evokes moods that we know from the "Concerto de Aranjuez". Blurs dominate. When listening, one has the impression that hot desert sand is spreading beyond the Mediterranean Sea and that this is not a real barrier, but rather a kind of sea of sound that is determined by the music of the residents. The playing of the saxophonist is particularly brilliant, as he refrains from assuming a dominant position. The saxophone sounds seem like icing that melts warmly. We hear subtle percussive sounds in the background and more bass-heavy sounds thanks to the pianist. And we also hear vocals, placed on an equal footing with the instruments and laid out more as a carpet of sound.
Alto or soprano saxophone? – that's what you ask yourself when you hear the composition "Gravity", written by Ginsburg. We hear the finest lines and hatching of the sound. There is nothing that is developed in from the center to the edges. Everything seems focused at the core. The following piece "In Situ", written by the pianist, describes the experiences of the last few years in which we had to stay in one place because of the pandemic. The style of the piece is cascading, especially with regard to the piano sequences. Above these lies the euphony of the saxophone, circulating, oscillating. And a little cymbal was also added to the piece. But the intimate sound of the saxophone is quite obvious, here and there sounding like a clarinet. And the bass player also has room to develop in this piece.
"Canticum" (comp Grogan) is followed by another composition by the pianist called "Oceans Together", the title track of the present album. The pianist opens the piece with a variant of the hour strike. What the saxophonist adds to the sound spectrum of the piece seems almost crystalline and fragile. You could also have the image of gently moving waves in your head if you follow the saxophonist's passages. It's not monster waves, but rather choppy water that's being poured into sound forms. The musicians also processed the view of the sky in a composition: "Under The Blue" (comp Grogan). And finally the question is "Where to From Here", which rounds off the very intimately shaped album.
Translated from Jazz'halo German review
Reviews
The Musicians
Mark
Ginsburg
“...Ginsburg rains gorgeous melodies about our ears.”
John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald
“...Ginsburg shows he can play a fine multi-faceted horn.”
Reiner Kobe, Jazz Thing Magazine, Germany
Ginsburg has performed extensively in Australia and internationally.
His debut album, Generations, was nominated for Best Independent Jazz Album in Australia in 2010 and Convergence was awarded Best Jazz Album (USA Indie Acoustic Project) 2018.
Oceans Togehter, his new project with pianist/composer Ryan Grogan will be released in early 2023.
Ginsburg also co-wrote and recorded the music for the documentary A Common Purpose which won the Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival in 2011.
Ryan
Grogan
“......winner of the Trio Anima Mundi International Composition competition in 2018....”
Grogan is a highly accomplished pianist who has been playing professionally for many years.
In addition to performing, Ryan is a prolific composer with a wide range of work to his name. His screen-composing career started out as musical director at top South African recording studio prior to emigrating to Australia where he has written music for a wide variety of projects including TV series, numerous television commercials, documentaries, short films and games.
He has worked with Mark Ginsburg on numerous projects in including Generations (album) and Oceans Together as well as the popular South African Project ensemble.He
“...best music for children's TV.”
2012 Australian Screen Music Awards
Fabian
Hevia
Brett
Hirst
Touring
2023 OCEANS TOGETHER LAUNCH TOUR
We toured New South Wales and ACT in March in 2023 playing at the following venues:
Bent On Food - Wingham
Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music - Muswellbrook
The Playhouse Theatre - Armidale
Wauchope Community Arts Hall - Wauchope
Foundry616 - Sydney
St Andrews Church - Braidwood
Drill Hall Gallery - Canberra
Mechanics Institute - Lawson
NIMA / The Underground - Newcastle
Huge thanks to SIMA and the Australia Council for the Arts for supporting our tour.
Video
The Music
Track Exerpts
“Together, they put the listener in a state of ultra-awareness with their music, gentle in nature yet immersive in character” Frank Presley, FM 99.3
“... beautiful and intense music that communicates deep emotions”
Vittorio Mezza - Italy