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
TO BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING
TONY GOULD & CARL MACKEY
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ABC Music
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, May 13, 2023
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The veteran Melbourne pianist Tony Gould is apparently not particularly happy with his playing on this new album with saxophonist Carl Mackey. However, I can detect little evidence here to justify such a reservation. The essential hallmarks of Gould’s customary style are present: the melodic beauty at his fingertips; his sensitivity as an accompanist in the duo context; and a poetic quality that engenders generosity of spirit in the listener. What I hear most in Gould’s pianism is repose tinged with sadness. Here is an artist who feels things deeply, and one can always hear that depth in the music. Also this album is a splendid showcase for the hitherto little-known artistry of Perth’s Carl Mackey, now living in Melbourne. Clearly he has one of the most beautiful saxophone sounds in Australian jazz, and handles Gould’s six ruminative compositions (and one William Walton tune) with faultless authority. I can understand why a perceptive critic, writing in Dingo: Australian Jazz Journal recently gave this album five stars.
JAZZ
HOPE RENEWED
NAT BARTSCH
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Amica Records
Five stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, May 20, 2023
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Nat Bartsch’s 2021 album Hope, featuring her customary ethereal piano style and a string quartet, was justly nominated for a classical music ARIA Award. Hope Renewed is a re-interpretation of the same compositions, with her jazz quartet (guitarist Robbie Melville, bassist Tamara Murphy and drummer Maddison Carter), plus five classical musicians and post rock ambient effects. The addition of improvisation now renders the previous album somewhat one-dimensional. In a sense jazz has rescued eight compositions from the limitations of classical music, producing music that is truly good for the soul. The magical transformation of the music which Bartsch has achieved through a new vision should not be underestimated. Her own minimal piano style has never sounded more exquisite, and one continually marvels at the deep resonant sound of Murphy’s bass in the music’s lower registers, and Melville’s inspiring guitar solos. Bartsch herself says it all: “Hope Renewed is an epic, beautiful monster I’m proud to have found the audacity to create”.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
IN THE WAVES
STEVE BARRY
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Earshift Music
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, June 3, 2023
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This scintillating album from New Zealand pianist Steve Barry, who crossed The Ditch in 2009, effectively defines where modern jazz is today. He’s accompanied by three virtuosos: ex-UK saxophonist Will Vinson, now resident in Sydney; US drummer Eric Harland who was here in 2022 for festival gigs; and bassist Thomas Botting, another Kiwi. With such enormous talent available, it’s little wonder that Barry’s eight compositions are played with breathtaking brilliance. The music is so powerful that at times one cries out for a ballad. The more slow-moving tunes Half Moon Lights and Float are therefore a great relief. The album employs to advantage the often marginalised swing-feel, which in fact is taken to the cutting edge, while the music still sounds deeply redolent of the jazz tradition. This strong music makes some of the “originality” in much contemporary jazz appear somewhat quaint. Barry underlines where modern jazz has come from but, at the same time, adroitly points to where it’s going.
Eric Myers