Sidekick

Sidekick is the debut CD from guitar duo Ziggy and Miles. It pairs new works written for the brothers with their own arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de Lune and repertoire from Spain, Latin America and Australia that has shaped their musical identity.

Ziggy and Miles ensemble
Ziggy Johnston acoustic guitar
Miles Johnston acoustic guitar

Paulo Bellinati composer
Joaquín Rodrigo composer
Enrique Granados composer
Katie Jenkins composer
Claude Debussy composer
Ken Murray composer
Nigel Westlake composer
Ziggy and Miles arranger

The title track is a character piece by Katie Jenkins that satirises the brothers’ unbreakably strong but at times hilarious dynamic.

The programme also takes in Bellinati’s Jongo, Rodrigo’s Tonadilla, Granados’s Valses poéticos, Ken Murray’s Trin Warren Tam-boore and Westlake’s Songs from the Forest, with world premiere recordings of the Jenkins and Murray works.

Smack bang in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself confined to the four, pale blue walls of my college dorm room. Across the hall were two guitarists, Miles and Ziggy Johnston; I was convinced, at the time, they were twins. I later realized that they were brothers who finished each other’s sentences, read each other’s minds and had a musical synergy that was quite remarkable. I noticed that at times, their performances would sound like one person playing with 12 strings! When they asked me to write them a duo, I knew that I wanted to create a custom character piece that was as playful and humorous as the dynamic between them. The result is a work that takes us through the many and varied moments I encountered, living with the Johnston brothers as Juilliard students. They make fun of each other but need each other, they compete with one another but are stronger together. Sidekick satires their unbreakably strong but at times hilarious brotherly dynamic. This work is dedicated to the Johnston brothers with deep gratitude for their musical super-powers, camaraderie, and friendship!

— Katie Jenkins

The piece reflects the joy I have felt at visiting the Trin Warren Tam-boore wetlands on the north-western edge of Royal Park in Melbourne over the past few years. During the lockdowns of 2020/21 residents were restricted to a five-kilometre zone for travel and Trin Warren was just within my range. It’s a great example of urban design where stormwater is treated, and native birds are attracted by rich variety of plant and animal life. Trin Warren and its surrounds are a real haven for smaller birds such as honeyeaters, pardalotes, robins, wrens and finches, and also for parrots like the Eastern rosella, musk lorikeets and the red-rumped parrot. The name was given by the Wurundjeri people, the indigenous custodians of the Melbourne area, and means Bellbird Waterhole.

— Ken Murray

Reviews

transfixingly beautiful

— Limelight

Artist

Ziggy and Miles

Ziggy and Miles are Australian guitarist brothers whose duo playing is known for transfixing synchronicity and a full range of colour and technique. They are forging an international career built on major competition success.

Tracks

Jongo Paulo Bellinati 4:00

Tonadilla Joaquín Rodrigo

i. Allegretto ma non troppo 2:32
ii. Minueto pomposo 5:15
iii. Allegro vivace 3:52
Valses poéticos (arr. Duo Gruber/Maklar) Enrique Granados 14:13
Sidekick (World Premiere Recording) Katie Jenkins 7:01
Clair de Lune (arr. Ziggy and Miles) Claude Debussy Arr: Ziggy and Miles 5:01
Trin Warren Tam-boore (World Premiere Recording) Ken Murray 7:30
Songs from the Forest Nigel Westlake 6:46

Performers

Composers

Paulo Bellinati

Paulo Bellinati's guitar writing draws on Brazilian dance and song. His Jongo has become a recital staple, full of playful rhythmic drive, while pieces such as Um Amor de Valsa and Baião de Gude show the same ear for colour and groove.

Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was a French composer whose harmony, colour and flexible sense of key reshaped European music at the turn of the twentieth century. Piano, orchestral and chamber works from his maturity remain central to the repertoire.

Enrique Granados

Enrique Granados was born in Lérida in 1867. He studied the piano and composition in Barcelona and then in Paris, returning to Barcelona in 1889, and won distinction as a pianist and popularity in Spain with his zarzuelas and piano music.

Katie Jenkins

Ken Murray

Ken Murray (b. 1968) is a Melbourne guitarist and composer working across classical and electric guitar in contemporary chamber music.

Joaquín Rodrigo

Joaquín Rodrigo gave the classical guitar its most enduring twentieth-century voice. His Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasía para un gentilhombre and smaller Spanish works still define how the instrument sings with orchestra, flute or voice: clear lines, warm colour and an unmistakable Iberian lilt.

Nigel Westlake

Westlake has played in fusion bands and soundtrack sessions, with Australia’s leading instrumental groups, and as a soloist with orchestras and classical ensembles in Australia and in major cities worldwide, from London and Paris to Tokyo, Beijing and New York.

Contributors

Graphics design

Where to listen

Sidekick is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Sidekick is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.

Product details

Catalogue number: MCD 648
List price: $25.00 AUD
Total playing time: 56 minutes 10 seconds
Producer: Alan Liu
Miles Johnston
Wei Wang
Ziggy Johnston
Recording Engineer: Wei Wang
Editing Engineer: Shen (Rick) Liu
Mastering Engineer: Wei Wang
Venue: Skillman Music Recording Studio, New York City, USA
Credit: Anthony Cristiano
Jim Redgate
John Griffiths
Martin Wright
Shervin Lainez
Release date: 15 Jul 2023
Category: Classical
Genres: Contemporary Classical, Romantic & Impressionist
Barcode: EAN 9314574064827