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.

JAZZ SCRAPBOOK: HARD LIVING, HIGH TIMES

by Eric Myers

Magazine, June 30, 1983

Jazz Scrapbook is a marvellous documentary about the early years of Australian jazz, circa 1935-55. It is now showing nightly at 9.30 at the AFI Chauvel Cinema, Paddington Town Hall, until Thursday July 7. The film-maker Nigel Buesst, who teaches film production at Swinburne Institute in Melbourne, is best-known for his low budget film The Rise And Fall Of Squizzy Taylor. But he is also a jazz buff who got the bug as far back as 1956 when he turned up in short pants at the Prahran Town Hall for the Australian Jazz Convention…

FEW COMPARE WITH KERRIE BIDDELL

by Eric Myers

Magazine, July 14, 1983

Kerrie Biddell is one singer you can't categorise. She is certainly the finest female singer in Australian jazz — few people doubt that claim — yet she has always been more than just a jazz singer. To describe her as just a popular singer is to do her an injustice. Her voice has the sort of elasticity, responsiveness and range that most popular singers lack, and one finds her improvisational ability only in singers who are immersed in jazz…

MORRISON BROS BIG BAD BAND: JAZZ AS ART & ENTERTAINMENT

by Eric Myers

The Australian, October 29, 1983

Is jazz entertainment or art music? This hoary old dispute, which has divided jazz followers for many years, was brought sharply into focus last week by the Morrison Bros Big Bad Band. James Morrison and his 12 colleagues, in a heart-warming evening of marvellous music at the Seymour Centre, left little doubt that, as far as they’re concerned, jazz can be unself-consciously both. This concert showed that the Morrison Band is an exciting new venture in Australian jazz. It is a showcase for many outstanding young musicians who have gathered in Sydney in recent years, and we can expect them to be among our major jazz stars well into the 21st century…