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
IRIDESCENCE
DANNY WIDDICOMBE & TRICHOTOMY
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Earshift Music
Four stars
Published in the Weekend Australian, October 11, 2025
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This is a lovely album of pop songs sung beautifully by Danny Widdicombe (guitars, pedal steel, synth). He’s accompanied by the Brisbane jazz trio Trichotomy, including Sean Foran (piano & keyboards), John Parker (drums & percussion) and Samuel Vincent (electric bass). In fact the most impressive aspect of Iridescence, other than Widdicombe’s work, is the electric piano solos of Foran, an immaculate player in all contexts over the years. While this album is fairly described as “a stunning blend of jazz, modern soul and funk”, pop should be added to that list. Recently I’ve been listening to music of the 1960s again, and was struck by how much Iridescence resembles the formula which The Beatles introduced to the world for the first time: rich vocal harmonies, clear & intelligent messages in the lyrics, and excellent time-feels that sound just right. Iridescence emulates that excellence. While the messages of hope and renewal in the lyrics might appeal most to youngsters who are experiencing angst, I feel that any listener tuned into good music will find this album highly rewarding.
Eric Myers
JAZZ/WORLD MUSIC
Pastorale by East of West
Independent
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Published online in the Weekend Australian, November 1, 2025
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When I’m asked to review an album here I normally assume it’s a jazz album. With Pastorale, I find it contains only “jazz elements”, and feel it should be categorised as world music, a jazz-related genre, incorporating many common elements, particularly improvisation. East of West is a Brisbane trio led by the brilliant Bosnian-Australian instrumentalist and composer Goran Gajic (double bass), with Philip Griffin (oud) and Malindi Morris (percussion). They are joined here by Romano Crivici, probably best-known as violinist with his ensembles Elektra String Quartet and the Elektra Collektive Unconscious. He is also a lovely pianist, which his work on this album exemplifies. Pastorale contains five of Gajic’s beautifully melodic compositions, plus one by Griffin. While the celebrated virtuoso Joseph Tawadros dominates the Middle Eastern oud in this country, Griffin’s exceedingly strong playing throughout shows that he’s not living in Tawadros’s shadow. Quite the contrary. While I’m no expert on the Balkans and Mediterranean musical traditions, which are said to be present here, the splendid interactions between the musicians here suggest an affinity with the best traditions of European jazz.
★★★★
Eric Myers
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Eric Myers writes: Circa October 21, 2025, The Australian announced a change to its arts coverage. A digital-first section would henceforth be found at this link: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/culture In print, the weekend section formerly known as Review would be rebranded as Culture, starting on Saturday, October 25, 2025. The format of 5x album reviews a week would continue in the same format as before (ie one feature review, and four shorter reviews). The print edition of Culture would carry only the feature album review, with a pointer directing readers to read the other shorter reviews online. This means that those wishing to read the four shorter music reviews would need to subscribe to The Australian.
JAZZ
Noir by Paul Grabowsky & Michelle Nicolle
ABC Jazz
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Published online in the Weekend Australian, November 8, 2025
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Even in the current era of unprecedented excellence in jazz albums, pianist Paul Grabowsky and vocalist Michelle Nicolle are something else. Arguably the two finest exponents in Australian jazz of their respective artistries, pianism and vocalising, Noir is like a meeting at the summit. The repertoire includes 11 carefully selected songs: eight standards, many of them sad and heart-wrenching, and three from left-field, namely Elvis Presley’s first single, Heartbreak Hotel; the Grabowsky/Vince Jones composition, Rainbow Cake; and the perceptive Nicolle composition, One Beer. Sometimes in rhapsodic introductions before Nicolle begins her brilliant vocals, and sometimes accompanying those vocals, Grabowsky is much more expressive than in his well-known collaborations over the years with other singers. He does not simply reproduce the harmonic changes we usually expect to hear; like all great jazz pianists, he creates new and imaginative chord structures which redefine the tune under exploration. Think of the two masterly albums recorded by Bill Evans and Tony Bennett in the 1970s. Grabowsky and Nicolle are in that league. Noir is a statement for the ages. It’s that good.
★★★★★
Eric Myers