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
GRATEFUL
MAT JODRELL
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Nicholas Records
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, March 26, 2022
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This beautiful album is trumpeter Mat Jodrell’s fourth as a bandleader, reuniting with three fellow Perth expatriates, all now resident in Melbourne: saxophonist Carl Mackey, trombonist Jordan Murray and bassist Sam Anning. They are joined by two New Yorkers, American drummer Jimmy Macbride and Japanese pianist Miki Yamanaka, whom Jodrell knew from his eight years in the Big Apple, and who happened to be visiting Melbourne when this session took place. The compositions feature lovely harmonic changes, over which excellent improvisations take place, so the music can be considered hard-bop. But it’s a particularly Australian form of contemporary hard-bop - relaxed, confident, laid-back. These are our finest musicians in great form, playing nine clever, well-arranged compositions by Jodrell. Surrounded by brilliant Australians, the two New Yorkers are pleasingly adept. Drummer Macbride is always part of the conversation but never intrusive, while Yamanaka stands out forcefully. Her piano solos, distinctive and highly melodic, suggest that her serendipitous presence is a big plus.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
THE AUSTRALIAN JAZZ EXPLOSION OF THE 1970S: A TRIBUTE TO HORST LIEPOLT
VARIOUS ARTISTS
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Australian Jazz Museum
Five stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, April 2, 2022
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The sub-title of this extremely important double-album is A Tribute to Horst Liepolt. It documents the extraordinary flowering of jazz which took place primarily in Sydney during the 1970s, which provided momentum for the development of the music till the end of the 20th century. Liepolt was a key figure in that phenomenon, as artistic director of 44 Records, releasing some 30 albums 1975-1979; as a curator at The Basement, which opened in 1973; and as manager of the group Galapagos Duck, which developed a popular following. 29 tracks, totalling two hours and 15 mins on two CDs, have been selected by the Melbourne Jazz Co-op’s Martin Jackson. One can’t do justice to that amount of music here, but I offer one comment: it is revelatory to hear how sophisticated and adventurous the then avant-gardists were over 40 years ago. Seminal works by the likes of Charlie Munro, Roger Frampton, Serge Ermoll, and Melbourne’s Brian Brown documented here, should never be forgotten.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
SMALLER WORLDS
CASEY GOLDEN
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Independent
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, April 9, 2022
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Of all the talented Australian jazz pianists to emerge in the last decade, Casey Golden — grandson of the great trumpeter Bob Barnard — has always seemed to me to possess an extra element of artistry that sets him apart from his competitors. Of his five albums released so far, this is his first as a solo pianist. Ten tracks here may not be new compositions – some were written for other purposes over the last ten years – but Golden says they’ve evolved, and morphed into solo works. A commendable aspect of his approach to the piano is that, although he has technique to burn – a fact immediately obvious from his previous works – he is not showing it off here. This album finds him primarily reflective, understated, even melancholic, playing within himself. Perhaps two years of Covid and the necessary lockdowns have encouraged us to become more introspective, preparing us for the “smaller worlds” of the title. To lose oneself listening to this thoughtful and sensitive album is an exquisite experience.
Eric Myers