ERIC MYERS REVIEWS 1980-87
Eric Myers was the Sydney Morning Herald’s inaugural jazz critic, his first review appearing on February 2, 1980. This folder contains reviews and articles written by Myers up to his resignation in 1982. Text published in the newspaper is reproduced here, with the addition of photographs which may or may not have appeared in the newspaper. In 1983 Myers moved to The Australian, where he was that paper’s jazz critic, until he resigned towards the end of 1987. His reviews for that newspaper appear also in this folder. Articles which appeared in other publications are included here, if they serve to document the performances of Australian jazz musicians. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of reviews or articles in this folder.
Michael Franks
MICHAEL FRANKS: THE ART OF SONG
by Eric Myers
Encore Magazine, October, 1980
On stage, the American singer Michael Franks projects a rather shy, introverted image; he does not talk a great deal to his audience and, like many songwriters, is happy to say what he wishes to say through his songs. In person, off-stage, he is more engaging and personable than one might expect, with a wry wit and very articulate mind. Many of his fans may not be aware that, in fact, Franks has an academic background…
Sam Rivers
SAM RIVERS TRIO FLOWS FREELY
by Eric Myers
Sydney Morning Herald, October 1, 1980
The visit of the extraordinary Sam Rivers Trio gives Sydney jazz followers a unique opportunity to hear the kind of avant-garde freely improvised music which characterised the so-called loft jazz movement in New York in the 1970s. Along with Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp and Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers was at the centre of the free-form experimentation of the 1960s which burst the structural conventions of jazz. He is now involved in consolidating the advances made…
Ed Gaston
ONAJE, ED GASTON GROUP
by Eric Myers
Sydney Morning Herald, October 3, 1980
On Wednesday night, the Jazz Action Society provided another opportunity for local jazz followers to contemplate the division between Melbourne and Sydney jazz. The Melbourne quintet Onaje, featuring Peter Gaudion (trumpet and flugelhorn), Richard Miller (saxophone and flute), Bob Sedergreen (piano), Derek Capewell (bass) and Allan Browne (drums), performed two sets of basically hard-bop, modern jazz, with overtones of free music and atonality. Although this band played fiercely from the first note, there was an uneasiness over time in the rhythm section…