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.

WHY WANGARATTA? THE PHENOMENON OF THE WANGARATTA FESTIVAL OF JAZZ

by John Clare

Reviewed by Eric Myers

JazzChord, Summer 99/00

Why has the Wangaratta festival become, in ten years, the one festival which almost everyone regards as the best jazz festival in the country? Not only in terms of artistic excellence, but also in commercial terms...

DADDY’S PRACTISING AGAIN: AN AUSTRALIAN JAZZMAN LOOKS BACK AND AROUND

by Dick Hughes

Reviewed by Eric Myers

Encore, October 1978

I first heard a traditional jazz band live in 1962, during Sydney University’s Orientation Week. It was the Port Jackson Jazz Band, with Ray Price (banjo), Ken Flannery (trumpet), John McCarthy (clarinet), John Costelloe (trombone), Wally Wickham (bass), Alan Geddes (drums) and on piano — Dick Hughes…

BERNIE McGANN: A LIFE IN JAZZ

 by Geoff Page

 Reviewed by John Shand

No-one would argue that Bernie McGann, one of the most strikingly original musicians this country has produced, is not worthy of a biography... Congratulations, therefore, are due to Geoff Page and his publishers for getting Bernie McGann: A Life in Jazz up at all...