BOOK REviewS

This section includes reviews of books on jazz subjects by a number of writers. Reviewers interested in contributing are welcome to contact the editor by filling out the form in the CONTACT tab. When contributing please include the title of the book and its author, the name of the publisher, the date of publication, the book’s ISBN number, and the number of pages in the book. Please also provide, if possible, a high resolution scan of the book’s cover. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of reviews in this folder.

CLARINETS, PIPELINES AND UNFORESEEN PLACES: The Evolution of an Engineer

by Grahame Campbell

Reviewed by Eric Myers

I first became aware of Grahame Campbell when Peter Rechniewski, then owner of the jazz venue Foundry 616 invited me to join the Sydney International Jazz Festival board. Campbell was already on the board. I knew nothing about him, other than he was a successful businessman, and also a jazz enthusiast and maybe a former jazz musician. I can’t remember why I came to visit him at his house in Cottage Point but I remember that, among other subjects, he spoke warmly about his friendship with the African American soul singer Steve Clisby, who became an Australian citizen in 2013. Campbell loaned me one of the best books on Australian jazz that I’ve ever seen, featuring excellent photographs by Tomas Pokorny, and also gave me a copy of his biography Clarinets, Pipelines and Unforeseen Places, which has taken me some time to peruse. I was always interested to discover what Campbell’s involvement in jazz amounted to…

MOVE

by James Gaunt

Reviewed by Ted Nettelbeck

July 7, 2026

This book by librarian and journalist James Gaunt is a recent analysis of the historical significance of the Three-Out trio’s 1961 debut album Move. It is not clear from the author’s Preface when he first heard this record but he establishes it as an important trail blazer in the history of Australian recorded jazz, particularly because, more than other local jazz groups at that time, the trio convincingly captured the feel, energy and excitement that US jazz exemplars generated. I absolutely agree; at the time of its release, I was impressed by this album – and I first learned Randy Weston’s classic Little Niles by transcribing Mike Nock’s rendition, years before The Real Book became available in the late 1970s…

MOVE

by James Gaunt

Reviewed by Graeme Atwood

July 14, 2026

This short (137 pages) monograph is published as part of a series, 33 1/3 Oceania, which in turn is part of an enfolding series, 33 1/3 Global, devoted to significant popular music recordings from various countries. The senior editor of the Oceania series is Jon Stratton, with Jon Dale specialising in albums from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Quantitatively, the series is dominated by the broad pop/rock category, but it has recently expanded its attentions to embrace significant jazz releases, the first of which was devoted to John Sangster’s Lord of the Rings series, and this, the second jazz-based volume, centres on the Three Out trio, which was based in Sydney and active in the early 1960s; they recorded the album Move, the subject of this account. The members of the trio were bassist Freddy Logan, percussionist Chris Karan, and pianist expatriate New Zealander Mike Nock…