JAZZ ALBUM REVIEWS IN THE AUSTRALIAN
In September, 2017 Eric Myers commenced reviewing jazz albums in the Review supplement of The Weekend Australian. All reviews in this folder are written by Myers.
PIANO & VOICE
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LIGHT ON
PAUL KELLY & PAUL GRABOWSKY
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EMI Music Australia
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, August 15, 2020
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For a writer ordinarily reviewing instrumental jazz, examining Paul Kelly’s songs has been a revelation. Previously I saw him as a modestly talented singer, primarily defined by his prolific songwriting output. The depth of his artistry, previously hidden, is amply displayed on this album. Here is an artist dealing in his own way with large themes of human existence: temptation, loss, redemption, survival. Kelly writes beautifully about love: the power of a woman’s love, an old person’s perspective on young love, re-uniting after a long separation, reminders of a long lost love, and so on. The contemplation of such themes obviously gives sustenance to Kelly’s many fans, and the ambiguity of his lyrics enables those listeners to read their own feelings into them. Kelly’s sidekick here is pianist Paul Grabowsky, the Melbourne jazz community’s man for all seasons, able to shine in every musical setting. In his celebrated previous collaborations with singers Vince Jones & Kate Ceberano, and earlier with saxophonist Bernie McGann, Grabowsky was in familiar territory, working with well-known pop songs or jazz standards. In the case of Kelly, Grabowsky faces a formidable challenge: an oeuvre of nine original works, performed by the composer himself. To Grabowsky’s credit he is more diffident than usual. A lesser pianist might have inserted jazz licks holus-bolus into the music. Grabowsky’s thoughtful accompaniments enable him to stay within Kelly’s rather austere orbit. The arrangements are clearly suggested by the individual phrasing in Kelly’s singing style, and by the nature of the lyrics. It may well be that Grabowsky’s expert handling of the songs’ harmonic changes has unlocked, for the first time, the beauty in Kelly’s compositions. Other than Kelly’s works, there are three which provide something different: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138 and Gerard Manley Hopkins’ God’s Grandeur (both set to music by Kelly) plus Cole Porter’s lovely ballad Every Time We Say Goodbye. Kelly sings the latter surprisingly well and, in home territory and momentarily off the leash, Grabowsky expresses himself freely, showing his jazz keyboard mastery. Kelly says that performing his compositions with Grabowsky is like walking on a tightrope. That’s a good thing. This sort of tension, inherent in the music, provides much of the album’s great appeal.
Eric Myers
[In the August 22, 2020 edition of the Weekend Australian’s Review, the following appeared in the “Your Say” column (a letters to the editor column) towards the end of the Review supplement]
Too much jazz
As a former music reviewer for The Age in Melbourne, admittedly many moons ago, I am appalled at Eric Myers's admission that he previously saw Paul Kelly as "a modestly talented singer primarily defined by his prolific songwriting output". What an admission, typical of people who cannot see beyond their own boundaries, in Myers's case jazz. To even mention that it took Paul Grabowsky's handling of Kelly's songs [to unlock their beauty for the first time] is the ultimate of narrow-mindedness and lack of fairness. The four-and-a-half stars he gives the album does not make up for his bias.
Paul Speelman, Blairgowrie, Victoria
JAZZ
LIFE IS BRUT(IF)AL
ANDREA KELLER & FIVE BELOW
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Independent
Four-and-a half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, September 5, 2020
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Melbourne’s Andrea Keller is the quintessential disciple of the great Brian Brown, who proclaimed an essential verity: find your own voice. As pianist on Five Below’s second album, she is joined here by two bassists (Mick Meagher on electric, and Sam Anning on double), guitarist Stephen Magnusson, drummer James McLean, plus two saxophonists Scott McConnachie and Julien Wilson. Note two things: First, older Keller compositions are reworked, as in Meditations on Light, the album’s longest track. An earlier version was premiered in Wangaratta in 2012. Second, consider the inspiration of two iconic artists: Estonian composer Arvo Part (four tracks were composed while Keller researched his music), and Bohemian-Austrian writer Rainer Maria Rilke, who epitomized art as adventure. The album’s closing track Love In Solitude (Disassembled) includes Rilke’s thoughts, read by Keller’s eldest son Jim Keller. Keller continues her fascinating trips into the musical unknown, taking enthusiastic listeners with her.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
ELLA 100 LIVE AT THE APOLLO
VARIOUS ARTISTS
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Concord Jazz
Four-and-a half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, September 12, 2020
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This marvellous album celebrates the 100th birthday of the great Ella Fitzgerald, who died in 1996. In 1934, aged 17, she won a talent quest at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre and never looked back. That seminal event is re-enacted at this concert, which was recorded live at the Apollo on October 22, 2016 and runs to 74 minutes. On that night in Harlem, a cavalcade of brilliant singers — most of them African American — presented their versions of songs still associated with Ella. Singer Patti Austin and actor David Alan Grier host an event which shows how beautifully the Americans celebrate a historical jazz figure, while simultaneously presenting the old repertoire in fresh, new ways. The Count Basie Orchestra, now led by trumpeter Scotty Barnhart, sounds as good as ever. Cassandra Wilson appears briefly, but the real strength of the album is the inclusion of superb younger singers — such as Andra Day, Lizz Wright and Ledisi — who each shine individually and cement their roles within Ella’s distinguished pantheon.
Eric Myers