Eric Myers Jazz

AJAZZ ARTICLES & REVIEWS 2019-

This folder contains reviews and articles written by Eric Myers for the Australian Jazz Museum’s magazine AJAZZ. Myers commenced writing occasional pieces for the magazine in November, 2019. Readers may click on the INDEX button for a list of reviews and articles in this folder. Click on the title of any review or article that you wish to read.

PRATT MCMAHON HIRST GANDER: ASWIRL

Album review by Eric Myers

Personnel: Daryl Pratt (vibraphone), Matt McMahon (piano), Brett Hirst (bass) & Andrew Gander (drums)

AJAZZ 105, May, 2025

This lovely album from four brilliant jazz musicians is a gem. Recorded in 2016 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, it has been in the can waiting for drummer Andrew Gander to return from overseas before its release onto the market. Other than Gander, Aswirl features Daryl Pratt (vibraphone), Matt McMahon (piano) & Brett Hirst (double bass). Ten original compositions are played: five from Pratt, two each from Hirst and Gander, and one from McMahon. I found Aswirl a breath of fresh air, and am wondering why I found it so agreeable. Perhaps it sounds like a document from another era, as it feels so relaxed and unhurried…

LAURENCE PIKE: THE UNDREAMT-OF CENTRE

Album review by Eric Myers

Music written and performed by Laurence Pike

AJAZZ 104, February, 2025

The Undreamt-Of Centre is a beautiful album from the Australian drummer, improviser, composer and producer Laurence Pike. It’s his fourth solo album, featuring a work of eight tracks for drums, electronics and chamber choir. The Vox Sydney Philharmonia Choir is conducted by composer Sam Lipman, a childhood friend of Pike’s, with the album having been recorded in a 19th century Gothic church.  Pike has adopted the format of the requiem mass, which has been in existence and been reimagined many times over hundreds of years. In Pike’s hands, the traditional religious ambiences which have long been associated with the mass are subverted, with the introduction of contemporary sounds not usually associated with such masses…

DAVE PANICHI: THE LONDON SESSIONS

Album review by Eric Myers

Music written and arranged by Dave Panichi

AJAZZ 106, August, 2025

Recorded in London in just two three-hour sessions, this brilliant album is a major achievement for Australian jazz. Sydney composer/arranger and trombonist Dave Panichi should be very happy with what he has brought off here. Five of his compositions are played, running to 38 mins 15 seconds, so it’s a relatively brief album. But here we are talking about quality, not quantity. The five tracks are so interconnected that it’s difficult to think of them as five separate works. After repeated listenings I’ve been thinking of this music as one work, somewhat like a symphony for big band in five movements…