Phillip Johnston and the Greasy Chicken Orchestra

Phillip Johnston and the Greasy Chicken Orchestra

Phillip Johnston: soprano sax
Peter Farrar: alto sax
Tim Clarkson: tenor sax
Jim Loughnan: baritone sax
Peter Dasent: piano
Tim Rollinson: banjo
James Greening: sousaphone
Nic Cecire: drums

The Greasy Chicken Orchestra has finely tuned their brand of swinging 20s/30s jazz in a two-year residency at Sydney’s Foundry616, featuring some of Sydney’s finest musicians as they celebrate the music of New Orleans and beyond. With a focus on early Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton, tunes include such early jazz classics as South Rampart Street Parade, Muskrat Ramble, and Frog-I-More Moore Rag. The band is led by Phillip Johnston, an American saxophonist/ composer who lives in Sydney while still maintaining a musical life in his hometown of New York City.

In 2023, the GCO released its first recording on Earshift Records, entitled I Cakewalked With A Zombie (Earshift 081). The recording includes both original arrangements of classic tunes of the 20s & 30s, and original tunes by Phillip Johnston that pay homage to that era.

You can listen to/purchase the recording on Bandcamp here.

Streaming services here.

“Johnston has always understood that jazz’s history is a rich resource rather than a liability, and with this band he immerses himself almost completely in this era of energised and good-humoured dance music . . . a nuanced and blended sonority, combined with an emphasis on pinpoint arrangements and concise solos.” – John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald (27 Apr 2016)

Video demo for GCO