About Louise Denson Group
Louise Denson Group
Louise has been leading her own ensembles for a long time now.... She is currently gigging under her own name in duo, trio, quartet or quintet formations, as circumstances allow, in and around Hobart. Her go-to rhythm section is Hamish Houston on bass and Tom Robb on drums, who have done her the courtesy of learning dozens of her tunes. Frequent collaborators are multi-wind players Spike Mason and Phil Bywater, trombonist Stevie McEntee and vocalist Elly Hoyt. She has performed at the Clarence Jazz Festival, Salamanca Arts Centre, Moonah Arts Centre, Ulverston Wharf and elsewhere across Tasmania.
The Montreal incarnation of Louise Denson Group produced On the Level, with Frank Lozano (tenor/soprano sax), Aron Doyle (trumpet), Mike Milligan (bass) and Gary Fieldman (drums). LDG played numerous venues in and around Montreal and was a contestant in the Prix de Jazz duMaurier at the 1998 Montreal International Jazz Festival.
The Brisbane incarnation of LDG recorded Clean Start (2002) featured the late Tony Hobbs (tenor sax), John Hoffman (flugelhorn), Phil Noy (alto sax), Helen Russell (bass), Joe Marchisella (drums) and David Allen (congas). It won a Queensland Recording Association Sunnie Award – Best Jazz CD. More recently, LDG recorded Nova Nova with Paul Hudson (dr), James Sandon (sax) and National Jazz Award-winning trumpeter Lachlan McKenzie.
LDG teamed up with internationally acclaimed vocalist Ingrid James to record Portrait (2007). Their song 'Time to Be' won the QSong Pinnacles Jazz Award – Best Jazz Composition.
LDG-Latin! recorded Flame Tree (2010), featuring Brisbane’s top Afro-Cuban musicians: Sacha Kloostra (drums), Gustavo Cereijo (congas), Jeremy O’Connor (bass), David Allen (batá), the late John Stefulj (winds) and Bob Schultz (trumpet). Flame Tree was launched at the Brisbane Festival (Spiegeltent), and five of the compositions were either finalists or Highly Commended in QSong Awards.
LDG has performed at Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Melbourne International Women's Jazz Festival, Manly Jazz Festival, Brisbane International Jazz Festival, Valley Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival, and the Magnetic Island Tropical Jazz Party.
Vibración
Vibración is a latin jazz sextet co-led by Louise and virtuosic vibraphonist Kelly Ottaway. They pay tribute to the greats of the latin jazz - Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Cal Tjader, Poncho Sanchez and more. Debuting in 2024, they have thrilled audiences at the Clarence Jazz Festival, Salamanca Arts Centre Founders Room, Rektango, Taste of Summer and Hot August Jazz. Grooves include salsa, mambo, chachacha and boogaloo. These brilliant musicians bring energy and creative invention to this timeless repertoire. Louise and Kelly are joined on stage by Hamish Houston (bs) Tom Robb (dr), Maggie Abraham (timbales) & Elias Solis (congas).
Lutruwita Art Orchestra
Lutruwita Art Orchestra is a large improvisational ensemble under the direction of trombonist/composer/conductor Stevie McEntee. The musicians in LAO come from a range of traditions and backgrounds, including jazz, classical, folk, latin American and Iranian music. They have co-created and performed two major projects: Songs That We Carry (2024) and Nagmeh Javdaneh (2025), to great acclaim. The ensemble has performed at the Junction Arts Festival (Launceston) and the Unconformity Festival (Queenstown), as well as the Moonah Arts Centre and Theatre Royal.
