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
BLISS
TURIYA
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Independent
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, September 21, 2024
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This harp trio shares its name with a concept in Hindu philosophy that signifies the true self, so I was expecting Turiya’s music to be somewhat ethereal. It is however hard-core modern jazz, played by three full-on Perth musicians: Michelle Smith (harp), Kate Pass (bass) and Talya Valenti (drums). They’re inspired by the music of late American harpist Alice Coltrane, herself a Hindu spiritual leader who adopted the name Turiya. Ten originals are composed by the group members, and there’s much to praise about this album. Its time-feels are of the type that have long been imported into jazz from funk music, and they work well under the solos played, which are invariably excellent and pleasingly melodic. Bliss has great sound overall, but the tasteful work of Valenti in particular provides a very hip drum sound, beautifully recorded. One track didn’t work for me: Solace, featuring a rap artist named POW! Negro, whose words flew by so quickly that I wished they’d been printed on the album sleeve so they could be read and understood.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
LAYING DOWN A PATH IN WALKING
JIEM
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Earshift Music
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, October 5, 2024
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I have rarely heard a more moving and inspiring debut album than this one from Jiem. Listen to the opening solos from alto saxophonist Tessie Overmyer and trumpeter Miles Rooney, which throw down the gauntlet. These are clear statements of intent: we are here, this is our music, and we want this album to count. Jiem is a brilliant quintet also including Matthew Harris (piano), Harry Birch (double bass) and – as the essential character of this music comes from the drums – a busy and dynamic drummer Ryu Kodama. Eight original compositions are played, five by Rooney, two by Harris, and one by Overmeyer. Much of the music here is no-holds-barred, but nonetheless the whole gamut of current impulses in modern jazz are covered, from measured and restrained to freewheeling high energy, including chaos. In the case of Overmyer, she’s been heard often in Sydney playing short cameo solos in other people’s bands. It’s a tonic to hear her playing at length so assertively in her own right as part of Jiem.
Eric Myers
JAZZ
VOLANT
MATTHEW OTTIGNON
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Earshift Music
Four-and-a-half stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, October 12, 2024
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This is a very beautiful album which has given me immense pleasure. Saxophonist Matthew Ottignon has indicated that by enlisting the services of pianist Lauren Tsamouras, acoustic bassist Hannah James, and drummer & percussionist Holly Conner, he was striking a blow for gender equality. The presence of three women musicians however has in no way diluted Ottignon’s apparent purpose of delivering a strong statement in the acoustic jazz tradition best exemplified by the classic John Coltrane Quartet; if anything, their contributions have bolstered its overall appeal. Eight excellent and highly interesting Ottignon compositions are played here across 39 minutes. Still, the most distinctive aspect of Volant is the artistry of Ottignon himself, who has a very individual sound on the saxophone, with a wide diversity of tone colours to call upon, for example: extremely guttural, moderately guttural, a liberal vibrato when needed, a light feathery tone when necessary in the more minimal numbers. And his imagination as an improviser is uniquely fertile. Here is a genuine saxophone virtuoso at work, backed by a full-blooded rhythm section which takes no prisoners, and which is with him all the way.
Eric Myers