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.

DON BURROWS QUINTET: BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, April 7, 1981

Now Chairman of Jazz Studies at the Conservatorium of Music, Don Burrows has few opportunities these days to play live concerts. The performances at the weekend by his quintet were therefore a rare opportunity for a select audience to hear Australia's premier jazzman. Burrows's absence from the concert platform has not detracted from his brilliance. All the hallmarks of his playing, as we know them, were present: the stunning articulation of his lines of flute, clarinet and alto saxophone, the melodic beauty of his ideas, and his unerring ability to get the music burning…

JOHN HOFFMAN BIG BAND: ALWAYS WARM & MUSICAL

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, April 16, 1981

On Monday night, the John Hoffman Big Band, in the second of its scheduled seven concerts at Gas Lane, produced the kind of heartwarming music that indicates jazz is well and truly alive in this city. In an immaculate evening of big band jazz, this 17-piece group, like all good bands with unity of purpose, established a definitive presence, and effectively drew the audience into its orbit. It was a delight to hear a large orchestra playing with such superb dynamics...

GEORGE GOLLA: GODDAMMIT THESE ARE JUST GUITARS

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, April 18, 1981

When George Golla's Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra is performed on April 29 by the ABC Sinfonia — with Robert Miller conducting and Don Andrews as soloist — a Sydney audience will hear a work unique in music today. The electric guitar has been used occasionally in contemporary avant-garde classical music, but Golla's concerto is practically the only known work which uses the instrument in an orthodox concerto format against the background of a symphony orchestra…