Eric Myers Jazz

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.

GAS LANE: ELEGANT NEW VENUE

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, January 7, 1981

With the spectacular launch of Gas Lane on Monday night, Sydney now has another splendid jazz venue. and an extremely elegant one at that. This new club is run by Bruce Viles, who also owns The Basement, Sydney's most prominent jazz venue for many years. The main musical interest of the night was in the appearance of the inveterate quintet Galapagos Duck which appears to have survived the worst shake-up of its 11-year history, with the recent loss of its outstanding rhythm section - Len Barnard (drums), Chris Qua (bass) and Col Nolan (piano).

RECORD REVIEWS

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, January 12, 1981

Piano Solos 1929-1941, Fats Waller (RCA VPL1 7330); Fine Arabian Stuff, Fats Waller (Deluxe Records DE 601)

This is a splendid collection of classic Fats Waller solo performances selected from the hundreds of record sides cut by this redoubtable pianist during a relatively short career. One of the disc's merits is its beautiful representation of the school of jazz piano known as Harlem Stride: based on the famous "boom-chung" rhythmic foundation in the left hand, with brilliant, syncopated melodies and embellishments superimposed by the right hand. Fats Waller may not have been the greatest of the New York stride pianists who emerged in the 1920s but he was certainly the best-known…

ANITA O’DAY: STILL SINGING IT HER WAY

Interview by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, January 14, 1981

For a singer with no uvula, Anita O'Day, 61, has come a long way in American jazz. For the uninitiated, the uvula is the fleshy appendage hanging from the soft palate at the back of the mouth which enables a singer to produce vibrato. Miss O'Day lost her uvula by mistake during a messy tonsilectomy at the age of seven and throughout her singing career has had to fashion her own unique method of voice production. "That is why I talk loud," she says. "I talk past the uvula...”