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.

BRIAN BROWN

Interviewed by Mike Williams

Excerpt from book The Australian Jazz Explosiion, 1981

Brian Brown is the acknowledged leader of the modern jazz movement in Melbourne, a position he has maintained since the late 1950s through his vital, questing personality, which is consistently reflected in his music. He is apt to use the word ‘passion’ when referring to his playing and that of the members of his band. It is an accurate description. He believes that jazz should be essentially a creative music, always developing, reflecting the constant and often turbulent changes in society...

THE PROFESSOR: ANDREW SPEIGHT

by Gordon R Webb

Gordononmusic.blogspot.com, March 31, 2011

Last month I had the pleasure of interviewing jazz musician, educator, composer, producer, and musical and artistic director, Andrew Speight. The following article is the result of those interviews, combined with my own knowledge and a bit of research…

JAMES MACAULAY: THE CHARM OF THE TROMBONE IS IN ITS MYSTERY

Interview by Nikos Fotakis

Australianjazz.net, December 24, 2017

There are Christmas songs and then there are Christmas songs, and they don’t get much better than James Macaulay's contemplative opus Christmas Day Love Song,  a tune that looks right through your soul, while you seek for a glimpse of truth, navigating through the obsessive compulsive roller coaster of pre-programmed emotions that calls itself ‘holiday season’. James Macaulay, of course, is one of the reluctant stars of the Melbourne Jazz community…