Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of OK Aurora, and eight-piece jazz-meets-pop ensemble, for the release of their album, Only in Autumn, on 30th July 2021.OK Aurora are a London based Octet led by drummer Rod Oughton. Taking inspiration fromartists such as Steely Dan and Becca Stevens, this project fuses contemporary jazz and popmusic. Their debut EP, Baby Zeza, was released in 2019, and since then the band has performed all over the UK, including venues in London, Bristol and the South-West. In 2020, the Arts Council of England funded OK Aurora's UK tour and the recording of their upcoming debut album, Only in Autumn, which was recorded at Giant Wafer Studio in Wales.The band is led by Rod Oughton, an up-and-coming jazz drummer based in London. Since graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music in 2015, Rod has performed all over the UK and Europe, as well as in Havana, Cuba and the Dubai Opera House. He has appeared on the main stages of the Latitude and Citadel Festivals with Hudson Taylor, in Cadogan Hall with the James Taylor Quartet and with emerging Pop star Hannah Grace at the BST Festival in Hyde Park (supporting Barbara Streisand).The eight-piece outfit consists of a number of emerging musicians on the UK jazz scene, including Alina Miroshnichenko (vocals), Alexandra Ridout (trumpet), Ronan Perrett (alto sax), Dan Smith (tenor sax), Jacky Naylor (piano), Billy Marrows (guitar), Pete Komor (bass), along with Rod Oughton (drums and compositions).Rod explains the idea behind the project: "OK Aurora was formed to make a big sound. It's an eight-piece band, including three horns and a singer, so it's a lot of fun when we all get going. I take a lot of influence from artists such as Steely Dan and Becca Stevens, who blur the lines between pop and jazz, and I've always tried to write in a way that allows the musicians to stretch out but is also accessible to an audience that might not be too familiar with jazz.
