Music
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Discography
Marc Ongley currently has 7 CD albums to his credit - the first being the Abbey Road CD 'Song For Ros' recorded and released in 1993 on Hunter Valley Records - distributed by Harmonia Mundi in the UK - no out of print. 'Song For Ros' received great national airplay at the time thanks to the dear Humphry Littleton who kindly played it on hi BBC Radio show. 'Song For Ros ' was also very positively reviewed by Richard Cook and Briamn Morton in the 1994 'Penquin Guide To Jazz' - new edition. The other 6 CD albums are in the solo classical guitar and jazz fields and have received regular airplay on the then Jazz FM by the late and loverly Cambell Burnap. 'Jazz Beatles' feaures Steve Waterman on trumpet/flugelhorn and Marc on nylon strung. 'Gentle Rain' (solo jazz guitar) - 'Guitar Recital' (solo classical) - 'Golden Classics' - (solo classical) - 'Guitar Recital Two' (solo classical) - Marc Ongley play Stevie Wonder (solo jazz guitar). All the above are released on Natural Light records and are avilable onlie: www.naturallightrecords.com
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Bio
Marc Ongley has been involved in the music business since he was only 13 years old. By the time he was 16 he had supported the Kinks and the Beach Boys when these guys visited his home town in Australia - Maitland/Newcastle NSW. At the age of 18 he turned fully professional and took up private music teaching to support himself. At this time a new student came along and asked Marc could he teach her Classical guitar - he said 'what is that?'. The girl student said 'I have a book (Frederick Noad) and as you have been playing for 5 years I am sure you will learn much quicker than me and be able to teach me classical'. Marc soon fell in love with this style and 11 years later gave his highly successful Wigmore Hall debut in London 1982 - for those who know the difficulties of classical guitar this was no mean feat and shows Marc's incredible dedication to his music no matter what the style. All this is a far cry from Hendrix's music which he played and loved (still does) from 1963-68. Marc has just formed the UK outfit 'The Marc Ongley Band' dedicated to performing Hendrix's greatest hits along with other rock legends - this is Marc returning to his 1st love after performing classical and jazz for the past 37 years. The track you can hear on site is '#3 Road House Blues' and this was recorded 'live' at Abbey Road Studios on April 24th 1993. What you are hearing are four guys who had never performed together before this studio date - Marc had written this tune the day before the session. This was recorded in one take - the guys being given the lead sheet just before the session began - this explains the wonderful freshness to the sound. Marc's all time Guitar Heroes in the order he discovered these styles were: Jimi Hendrix, Andres Segovia and Wes Montgomery. Marc has made his home in london since 1991 and teachers 3 days a week at the famous St Pauls School in Barnes London. Over the past 17 or so years Marc has been fortunate enough to have worked with: Guy Barker - Steve Waterman - Laurence Cottle - Neil Wilkinson - and countless others in the jazz world. In the classical arena he has recorded film soundtracks with John William's old group - 'Sky' and also with the 'London Symphony Orchestra'. Marc has given numerous solo recitals on classical guitar. Marc has just returned - after 37 years - to his 1st love the music of Jimi Hendrix and since September13th 2008 has been forming and rehearsing 'The Marc Ongley Band' M.O.B. for short. This outfit is dedicated to the memory of the late/great Jimi Hendrix and some other rock legends. Marc just bought a beautiful 1978 Gibson TS-335 in mint condition. His other rig consists of a rare THC hand-built, hand-wired, german valve amp - a THD Hot Plate - a 535 vintage Cry baby Wah - a Rodenberg Gas 828 overdrive - a Perterson Strobo Stomp - a gigmaster1012 extension speaker cab - a 1978 American Standard Tele - a very rare George Benson GB20 Jazz Guitar - a Takamine Electro acoustic nylon - a 1987 Jaime Julia Concert Guitar - a Polytone Jazz amp - a Phil Jones Briefcase Bass amp - a Shure SM58-Beta mic.
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