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.

CLEO LAINE HITS THE HIGH NOTES

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, March 16, 1982

When a jazz singer commands a mass audience, there has to be some explanation. Are the crowds there to hear a jazz performance, or to see a star? In the case of the 54-year-old English singer Cleo Laine, there appears to be a happy confluence of both. As she demonstrated at her opening Sydney concert on Sunday afternoon, she has superb control of many vocal techniques that can come only from a lifetime in jazz-oriented music…

ABDULLAH IBRAHIM: PROFOUND SPIRITUAL INTENSITY

by Eric Myers

Sydney Morning Herald, March 25, 1982

A disappointing audience of only about 150 attended the performance on Monday night of the extraordinary South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. One wonders why the 2,500 people who heard the American pianist Keith Jarrett recently at the Sydney Opera House did not turn out to listen to Ibrahim, who is in the same class…

JAZZ IN SYDNEY

by Eric Myers

JAMM Magazine, April, 1982

I wonder if people in Melbourne realise what an impact Melbourne jazz musicians and singers are now having in the Sydney jazz world. For many years, of course, the former Melburnians working in Sydney have read like a who's who of Australian jazz — John Sangster, Bob and Len Barnard, Alan Turnbull, Stewart Speer, Graeme Bell, Dick Hughes, just to name a few. With the continuing expansion of the Sydney jazz scene, they are still arriving from Melbourne. Chris McNulty, an outstanding singer who is as much at ease with jazz as she is with funk music, has been doing irregular work in Sydney, but still making a great impact…