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
NIGHTJAR
THE VAMPIRES & CHRIS ABRAHAMS
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Earshift Music
Five stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, July 1, 2023
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The Vampires, a brilliant pianoless quartet, have been highly successful for almost 20 years without a chordal instrument. Perhaps they never needed one. Still, with Nightjar, they have plugged the gap, and benefit immeasurably. One might ask unkindly: what took them so long? Chris Abrahams, on various keyboards here, is not just another pianist. He is one of this country’s greatest improvising musicians. In one fell swoop, two of the strongest forces in Australian jazz, both of whose music is drenched in melodic beauty, are amalgamated, creating what is palpably a masterpiece. The trumpet/saxophone combination of Nick Garbett and Jeremy Rose, a unique sound readily identifiable from the first note, is overwhelmingly atmospheric and ruminative, particularly when Rose is on bass clarinet, an instrument which lends to mystery; the groove-based time-feels created by bassist Noel Mason and drummer Alex Masso are nuanced and infectious; and the deceptively simple compositions by Garbett and Rose, based on familiar riffs, are a perfect springboard for the creativity of Abrahams.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
I DIDN’T GET TO WHERE I AM TODAY
JASON BRUER & HAMMERHEAD
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Independent
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, July 15, 2023
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Unquestionably this album’s touchstone is brilliance, derived principally from Hammerhead’s great rhythm section. It’s built on the immaculate drumming of Alex Hirlian, the double bass of new recruit Dave Quinn, best-known hitherto as a member of Tom Avgenicos’s outstanding quartet Delay 45, and the superb pianist Greg Coffin, who never fails to astound me. Their impressive playing allows three outstanding horns in the front-line to freely express themselves, so comfortably in the pocket of the rhythm section that they need only coast to produce splendid improvisations. Leader/saxophonist Jason Bruer’s ten clever compositions, which really sing, are arranged in order to feature rich three-part harmonies, courtesy of second saxophonist Andrew Robertson, and trumpeter Simon Ferenci. This music is essentially hard-bop, now a relatively old form, but the time-feels here sound so contemporary, and are played so well, that the music here is a cut above much of what’s been previously played in this classic genre.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
THEY KNOW THAT WE KNOW (ONE’S REALITY)
PETER PETRUCCI
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Independent
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, July 22, 2023
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This is a modest and unassuming album from the splendid Melbourne guitarist Peter Petrucci, probably best-known for a series of duo albums in past years with the pianist Tony Gould. A prolific recording artist over three decades, he has released eight albums as a leader and appeared on 30 albums as a sideman. Here he returns to the duo format with eight tracks, presenting three comfortably familiar standards, and five somewhat abstract originals: three of his own works, and two by the American electric bassist Steve Swallow. Four brilliant Australian bassists are on hand, each of whom plays on two tracks: Geoff Kluke, Ben Robertson and Eric Ajaye (on double bass), and Jeremy Alsop (on fretless electric bass). Recorded between 2019 and 2022, these tracks are beautifully played by a guitarist who has patently mastered the art of improvisation over a set of chord changes, in other words the essential language of jazz. The result is a highly thoughtful and intimate jazz experience.
Eric Myers