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
CHRISTMAS WISH
GREGORY PORTER
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Blue Note/Decca Records
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, December 23, 2023
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Previous Christmas albums might well have opened with a corny version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and from there it would invariably be downhill. Thankfully, US singer Gregory Porter has resurrected the genre with an inspirational album. It includes three of his own excellent compositions — Heart For Christmas, Christmas Wish and Everything’s Not Lost — while he also nods to tradition, with Silent Night and Little Drummer Boy. A highlight is the guest appearance on Frank Loesser’s 1947 classic What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? by young vocalist Samara Joy, winner of two Grammys for best jazz vocal album and best new artist. The album’s jazz element includes short compact solos from splendid musicians such as harmonica virtuoso Gregoire Maret, organist Ondre Pivec, and saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, It would do no harm for Australian children to be given this great album. It would not only connect them to the spirit of Christmas but also acquaint them with arguably the finest African American voice in popular music since Lou Rawls.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
WITHOUT YOU
SARAH McKENZIE
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ABC Jazz
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, December 30, 2023
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This is the sixth album from Australian jazz pianist, composer and singer Sarah McKenzie, who left Australia in 2012 and now lives in Los Angeles. Celebrating Brazilian music, nine of 14 tracks are Antonio Carlos Jobim compositions, with others written primarily by herself. Familiar tunes such as Wave and Dindi are given innovative treatments, while lesser-known Jobim works Fotografia, Bonita and Modinha provide variety. In 2017 McKenzie performed at the opening of the Blue Note jazz club in Rio de Janeiro, and did other gigs, meeting key Brazilian musicians featured here: Jaques Morelenbaum (cello) whose solos and written lines are intensely beautiful; and Romero Lubambo (guitar), whose astonishing playing gives the album real distinction. While such players are praiseworthy in a backing sextet including drummer Peter Erskine, it is McKenzie’s own artistry which undoubtedly underpins the album’s success. Her singing in Portuguese is distinctive, her piano solos throughout are hip enough to suggest a comparison with Diana Krall, and she shows considerable brilliance as an exponent of the wordless vocal.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
REUNION
HOLLY MOORE
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ABC Jazz
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, January 6, 2024
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This brief, 34-minute debut album is from a quintet fronted by two outstanding instrumentalists Holly Moore (alto saxophone) and Jessica Carlton (trumpet). The music is basically contemporary hard-bop, but is unusually distinctive in several ways. Moore’s five compositions are highly melodic and attractive; the rich trumpet/saxophone sound achieved by Moore and Carlton suggests an exceptional empathy between them, which is particularly evident in passages of collective improvisation throughout; and their solos, lyrical but at the same time convincingly assertive, are underpinned by an impressive, take-no-prisoners Melbourne rhythm section whose energy never flags: Harry Tinney (guitar), Paddy Fitzgerald (double bass) and Luke Andresen (drums). I detect a purity of purpose in this music, which is communicated not through technical feats but through what appears to be deeply felt reverence for the music being played. Inspired by Moore’s decade-long friendship with Carlton, Reunion is said to be “dedicated to the power of female friendship, an ode to the necessity of strong female bonds, whilst navigating a male-dominated industry.”
Eric Myers