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
I CAKEWALKED WITH A ZOMBIE
PHILLIP JOHNSTON & THE GREASY CHICKEN ORCHESTRA
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Earshift Music
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, September 23, 2023
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The expatriate New York saxophonist Phillip Johnston moved to Sydney in 2005, after marrying an Australian woman. Amongst his fecund projects is the GCO, an 8-piece jazz ensemble which evolved out of a residency at the Foundry 616 club. It’s an odd group which resists categorisation. The musicians are mostly modernists but they play what is essentially revivalist music with flair and affection. Well-known trombonist James Greening, for example, pays a very mellow sousaphone, giving the music authenticity. Other than Johnston, the front-line includes three saxophonists Peter Farrar, Tim Clarkson and Jim Loughnan with a rhythm section of Peter Dasent (piano), Tim Rollinson (guitar) and Nic Cecire (drums). 15 tracks include fascinating versions of jazz classics such as Potato Head Blues and In a Mist, where the classic Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke solos are respectively re-arranged and harmonised for the ensemble. This project serves to redefine the often underrated jazz ensemble music of the 1920s and 30s, a timely mission which I warmly applaud.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
AUSTRALIAN JAZZ DIVAS
VARIOUS ARTISTS
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Australian Jazz Museum
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, October 7, 2023
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This double-CD album (51 tracks) featuring female Australian jazz singers, continues the Australian Jazz Museum’s admirable work. Its first track, Des Tooley’s 1929 version of Am I Blue, sounds so good it might have been recorded yesterday. Our female jazz singers – from the red hot mommas who sang with trad bands through to the modernists who are still singing today – have been of a surprisingly high professional standard. Judith Durham and Beverley Sheehan were both products of Melbourne jazz, although Durham went on to fame via The Seekers, while her equally talented sister Sheehan enjoyed mere local artistic acceptance. The closer we get to today in the tracklist the singing and arrangements become more sophisticated with the emergence of singers like Kerrie Biddell, Kate Ceberano and Grace Knight. With Janet Seidel, however, we are suddenly in another universe of musical excellence. Her stunning version of Lady Be Good, featuring the late Tom Baker, is the album’s highlight, and a reminder of the tremendous international success she enjoyed.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
DARK DAYS
WAVETELLER
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Independent
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, October 14, 2023
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Sydney is well endowed with brilliant and distinctive piano trios. The Pocket Trio, John Harkins Trio and Hekka are examples, each epitomising a unique musical vision. Waveteller — including Casey Golden (piano), Michael Mear (double bass) and Ed Rogrigues (drums) — is in a similar bag, their music being like no other trio, as far as I’m aware. Mear’s six compositions on Dark Days are said to explore rhythmic concepts and the elasticity of time, which is a good way of describing the trio’s modus operandi. Their music is intensely conversational, underlining the evolving tendency in modern jazz to give the voices of all musicians equal prominence in the sound mix. The result is a well-integrated group sound, with Golden’s highly developed lyricism intact, Rodrigues’ drumming style busy without dominating, and Mear’s bass lines coming strongly though the middle. The sophisticated interplay between the three musicians here is something to savour, exemplifying the trio’s name, which arises out of the idea of communicating through the sound waves of music.
Eric Myers