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.
Maree Montgomery
RECORD REVIEWS: MAREE MONTGOMERY & JENNY SHEARD
by Eric Myers
Penthouse magazine, August, 1981
Two recent releases show that, while jazz continues to be a male-dominated profession, the ladies — in the form of Maree Montgomery and Jenny Sheard - are in there swinging. In Good Company (Astor) shows that Maree Montgomery is blessed with a warm, sumptuous voice, an impressive range, and a rich vibrato which she employs generously. Her repertoire of standards and ballads is not unlike that of Jenny Sheard, but her vocal approach is quite different. Whereas Sheard is judicious, Montgomery swoops around the melody adventurously…
Lena Horne
BLACK MUSIC ON BROADWAY
by Eric Myers
Encore magazine, August, 1981
Everyone knows that New York is a great cosmopolitan city, and a melting-pot of many ethnic cultures. That’s why the city is so stimulating, offering the best and most exciting of whatever you might be into - the theatre, music, art, food ... whatever. I believe that the fundamental character of New York is determined mostly by the culture of the African Americans in that city. You can sense their influence in many typical New York attitudes; for example, in the concept of being 'hip', which presupposes an intuitive understanding of what is going on around you, without being required to explain it verbally. More particularly, the influence of the blacks is felt, most of all, in the music of New York…
Miles Davis
THE COMEBACK OF MILES DAVIS
by Eric Myers
JAMM magazine, August, 1981
In recent times, few events in jazz have been so eagerly anticipated as the return of the trumpeter Miles Davis in New York on July 5, 1981 to close the Kool Jazz Festival, (until this year known as the Newport Jazz Festival). The outstanding figure in modern jazz over the last 25 years, Miles Davis has changed the direction of the music a number of times. Beset by various health problems over the last five years, however, he has not recorded or performed live, and the record company CBS, which has been paying him a retainer of $300,000 a year, must have been a trifle nervous, wondering if he would perform again…