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.

PETER BRENDLÉ: A MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC

by Eric Myers

Encore Magazine, March, 1981

Peter Brendlé's skills are in the areas of promotion, publicity and administration – areas which are peripheral to music itself, but which, many would argue, are an essential part of the music industry. In fact, the greatest weakness of jazz artists in Australia is probably their lack of ability to promote themselves in the marketplace, and publicise their art in the media. Among most musicians, there is a trenchant dislike of promotional activity or commercialisation – it is, after all, not very "hip"…

DAVID TOLLEY: ORIGINAL AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FREE OF TYRANNY

by Adrian Jackson

Encore Magazine, November, 1979

David Tolley is hardly a household name, but if originality of conception and strength of execution are any yardstick of musical worth, then he is surely one of the most important musicians in Australia. Over the last four years, he has worked in an atmosphere of apathy, even hostility, to develop his uniquely original approach to creative music, electronic music that he describes as ‘soundscapes’ or ‘spontaneous compositions’. Previously, Tolley had earned a reputation as the most formidably gifted bassist on the Australian modern jazz scene…

GEORGE BENSON: OFF THE RECORD

Interview by Eric Myers

Encore Magazine, December, 1980

At the George Benson press conference on November 26, the questions and answers were predictable: Benson's transition from a jazz guitarist to a popular entertainer; his underprivileged childhood on the streets of Pittsburgh; the debt he owes to jazz greats like Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, John Coltrane; and so on. We discovered that Benson was in reform school for six weeks as a teenager but, despite his participation in the life of the streets, he never got into drugs…