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 COMEBACK OF MILES DAVIS

by Eric Myers

JAMM magazine, August, 1981

In recent times, few events in jazz have been so eagerly anticipated as the return of the trumpeter Miles Davis in New York on July 5, 1981 to close the Kool Jazz Festival (until this year known as the Newport Jazz Festival). The outstanding figure in modern jazz over the last 25 years, Miles Davis has changed the direction of the music a number of times. Beset by various health problems over the last five years, however, he has not recorded or performed live, and the record company CBS, which has been paying him a retainer of $300,000 a year, must have been a trifle nervous, wondering if he would perform again…

SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN: THE GLORIOUS SEPTET IN JAZZ

by Ian Muldoon

January, 2020

A septet in jazz is not a big band, or a small band, or a classic band as the trumpet, sax, piano, bass and drums is sometimes thought of as the sine qua non of bebop bands. Perhaps it’s a "little big band". Sometimes it’s called an “orchestra” as in the 1930s by Ellington alumni. A septet led by Benny Goodman which he called Benny Goodman’s Sextet was in fact Goodman plus six other players. Henry Threadgill called his septet a sextet because he counted two drummers as a single percussion unit in his band Henry Threadgill’s Sextet. Louis Prima called his septet a “gang”. Whatever it is designated or labelled by its maker, a septet is a congregation of instruments that is amazingly rich in possibilities in the use of colours, rhythms, timbres, moods, complexity, effects, patterns and structures that provide a delicious and enticing sound experience for the music lover…

GILL FALSON: THE POCKET VENUS

by Donna Abela

January 31, 2020

If you live in Sydney, you might know Gill Falson as the presenter of “Playing Favourites”, a program on Eastside Radio FM which commemorates the jazz greats, and showcases her extensive knowledge of the history of jazz. However, if you listen carefully to Gill back-announcing the tracks, you will hear anecdotes that reveal that her deep love and knowledge of music was not acquired from the sidelines. In partnership with her husband Ron Falson, Gill was immersed in the Sydney music scene and studio system for the better part of 50 years…