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.

JAZZLAB: A GREAT MELBOURNE VENUE

by Ian Muldoon

April 23, 2026

Birdland or Smalls or Ronnie Scott's are not normal tourist destinations but in the mind of jazz fans they are. Jazzlab at 27 Leslie Street, Brunswick may well, in time, join that list. Jazzlab is the rehoming of the famous Bennetts Lane which closed in 2017. Jazzlab seems to me a better venue than Bennetts Lane which is the subject of a book by David James, World’s Best Jazz Club: The Story of Bennett’s Lane (Major Street, 2014). To me it’s better than inter alia El Rocco; Sweet Basil, New York; The Sky Lounge; Side On Cafe; Jazz Lounge, Sydney Uni; Foundry 616; The Count’s, Monash Uni; and Bird’s Basement, Melbourne. Sound, range of artists, comfort, focus, atmosphere, staff are some prime factors but also history…

MY 2026 JAPAN TOUR

by Elsen Price

May 11, 2026

From July 2025 I started planning my January 2026 Japan tour. International touring often requires lots of time, waiting for responses, and then trying to organise dates that work efficiently and effectively. I made all of January available for possible performance dates, as having a lot of options helps minimise travel time and helps organise dates seamlessly. I also organised holiday time, and as this was the first trip travelling with my wife and our one-year-old and holiday time was important! It worked out I would spend my first few days in the Osaka area, with my first performance in Osaka, then my second in Nara (30 mins away)…

ANDREA KELLER & YUNIOR TERRY HONOUR JAZZ WEEK 2026

by Ian Muldoon

May 15, 2026

Memory is a bitch. Let me give a personal example. I recall buying the LP Mingus Ah Hum in Kowloon in 1962; buying Happenings (Bobby Hutcherson) in Singapore in 1968;  and Eric Dolphy on Prestige in Winnipeg in 1996.  With whom I can’t recall.  Nor can I recall who was with me at live concerts of Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson and Betty Carter. My memory is highly selective - my internal editor has stamped on my little brain painful or expensive accidents, ecstatic moments with women and great jazz moments in that order of priority and in old age jazz has moved up a notch to become a second priority memory. I had a memorable jazz moment last night on Monday, April 27, 2026 at a packed Jazzlab in Melbourne, when I heard a quartet led by Andrea Keller on piano with Jamie Oehlers, tenor; Blakely McLean-Davies, contra bass; and Dave Beck, drums. It was a bit of a shock…