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.
JAZZ
THE BALLAD COLLECTION
GREGG ARTHUR
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Juniper Jazz
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, February 12, 2022
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Of all musical genres, perhaps vocal jazz best enables the listener to live an imaginary life. Not everyone can share the bittersweet life experiences of say Billie Holiday, but through her music we can certainly relate to them. The music selected by Australian singer Gregg Arthur offers, to some extent, a sophisticated world of romance and international travel. We might be in Singapore, sipping champagne at Raffles, and entertaining a marriage proposal, or perhaps enjoying autumn in New York. The two highlights of this splendid album are the Jerome Kern standard The Way You Look Tonight and the superior 1950s tune Answer Me My Love. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe both are masterpieces. The latter reflects the album’s main theme: the phenomenon of lost love. Eleven tracks include six tunes from the Great American Songbook, four impressive originals by Arthur himself, endorsing the album’s main themes, and a Jobim classic Dindi. They are beautifully sung by an immaculate performer.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
ISOLATION EMANCIPATION
MACE FRANCIS PLUS 11
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Independent
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, February 26, 2022
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It’s a great comfort to hear this excellent album, as the Perth-based composer and arranger Mace Francis demonstrates that the art of big band jazz is in very good hands. This is only an 11-piece group, plus vocals, but the sound is very full. The music does not pretend to be avant-garde, and Francis is apparently inspired by the famous Marty Paich recordings of the 1950s. That makes sense, but at the same time this is modern jazz, sounding more like the 2020s than the 1950s. Isolation Emancipation features 10 tracks, all arranged by Francis — including six of his originals — plus five vocals from Lucy Iffla, including standards such as I’m In the Mood for Love. The band appears to be a mixture of young local talent and nationally known soloists, such as trumpeter Ricki Malet and pianist Harry Mitchell, who are featured strongly. It’s delightful to hear the evergreen Home on the Range which for some strange reason often recurs in my mind. That familiar tune has now been updated with this gorgeous version, beautifully sung by Iffla.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
OAATCHAPAI
SAM ANNING
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Earshift Music
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, March 19, 2022
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Bassist Sam Anning’s septet reads like a who’s who of Australian jazz, so we know this album will be good. His fourth album as bandleader, it follows his brilliant 2018 work Across a Field as Vast as One, which was much awarded. He is joined again by Mat Jodrell (trumpet), Carl Mackey (alto saxophone), Julien Wilson (tenor saxophone & bass clarinet), and Andrea Keller (piano & fender rhodes), plus new recruits Theo Carbo (guitar) and Rajiv Jayaweera (drums). The inspirations for this album, articulated by Anning in accompanying notes, are too complicated to be addressed here. The key composition Urkraft for instance, includes a rather poignant poem written by Anning, inspired by his thoughts on the primordial force that has originated everything in the universe. Listen for the innovative concepts, which are fascinating, in Anning’s writing, and simply luxuriate in beautiful improvisations played by some of Australia’s greatest jazz musicians. Anning has provided them with highly original music, filled with gravitas and nobility.
Eric Myers