ESSAYS

This section includes essays on various jazz subjects, written by a number of writers. Contributions are welcome. Writers interested in contributing are welcome to contact the editor by filling out the form in the CONTACT tab. Photographs to illustrate those essays are welcome. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

THE AUSTRALASIAN JAZZ AND IMPROVISATION RESEARCH NETWORK: BIRTH OF A NOTION

by Bruce Johnson, Chris Coady, Rob Burke

Speaking from my own experience, the seeds of what is now the Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network were planted well over a decade ago, in informal conversations I had with John Whiteoak about the growing interest among young researchers in Australasian jazz history.  There have been attempts to document that history as far back as the 1930s…

MIKE NOCK: MAKING MUSIC FLOW FROM THE RIVER WITHIN

by Jakob Baekgaard

It almost seems as if there's no other place on earth like it. New Zealand is truly breathtaking, with its diverse geography of mountains, beaches, green plains and forests forming a complex triptych where different strains of nature melt into a sublime scenario. And then there's the water, the ever-flowing source of life, finding its way through the landscape, reaching the shore and resting in lakes among the rocks. This is the place where pianist Mike Nock spent his childhood…

JAZZ CENTRE 44: SOUNDING MANY CHORDS

by John Clare

Excerpt from the book Bodgie Dada and the Cult of Cool, 1995

No picture of the outside of Jazz Centre 44 at St Kilda has come to light. According to memory, it resembled a Martello tower, except that large windows followed the top storey most of the way round. One musician described it as being like ‘a rotunda’ with a centre-peaked roof…