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
COMPOSERS PLUS VOL 1
ATM15 BIG BAND
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Independent
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, February 13, 2021
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Recorded live at Melbourne’s Jazzlab in August, 2018 this album features three originals from guest composers Michael Wallace, Mace Francis and Mat Jodrell, yet another example of talented WA musicians punching above their weight. Featured soloists include distinguished musicians Andrea Keller (piano), Julien Wilson (tenor sax), Paul Williamson (trumpet) and Jordan Murray (trombone). Wallace and Francis’s works are unusual enough to sound innovative, and Jodrell’s Swagger, even though a powerful treatment of the immortal swing-feel, sounds completely contemporary. The other four tracks feature a lovely slow original Yes Sir, from leader Andrew Murray, and three of his reinventions of well-known standards Stardust, Secret Love, and In The Wee Small Hours of The Morning, where the innovations are to be found in Murray’s brilliant orchestrations. It’s difficult to explain why I find Murray’s writing so beautiful. Perhaps it’s because he balances so well the dichotomy between familiarity and abstraction.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
THERE’LL BE SOME CHANGES PLAYED
TIM STEVENS TRIO
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Independent
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, February 20, 2021
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One of the qualities I most admire in a jazz group is nonchalance. I don’t hear it much in today’s albums, as it is often overridden by other forces in the music. Occasionally an album comes along where, as the music unfolds, I feel that the musicians are not trying to make it happen; they are allowing it to happen, and have surrendered themselves to the music. This is so with the brilliant trio led by Melbourne pianist Tim Stevens, which handles all time-feels with aplomb. Perhaps this is because he, Ben Robertson (bass) and Dave Beck (drums) have been together for 15 years and an intuitive trust unites them. No-one is trying to impress; no-one is trying too hard. The result is an outstanding album, a masterly exploration of ten beautiful Stevens compositions.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
JAZZ & COCKTAILS
GREGG ARTHUR
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ABC Jazz
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, February 27, 2021
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One has to feel for the gifted Australian singer Gregg Arthur. His latest album includes three originals by himself and his pianist Peter Locke, and nine standard tunes. Unfortunately he is competing with great versions of these standards already in the collective memory, and also freely available on YouTube. Still there’s good news. Arthur is backed here by a stellar jazz quintet doing everything right: Locke, bassist Craig Scott, drummer Tim Geldens, saxophonist Michael Avgenicos and guitarist Jim Pennell. Whether presenting the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn repertoire, or tunes such as Nature Boy, In The Still of the Night, and A Child Is Born, this exceptional singer, like Sinatra, delivers immortal melodies with impeccable phrasing. This rare ability is one of many qualities which enable Arthur to compete on equal terms with whatever the past has to offer.
Eric Myers