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.

TRADITIONAL JAZZ IN SYDNEY: THE ROAD TO THE NINETIES

by Peter J F Newton

Official program, Sydney International Jazz Festival, March, 1992

Just on 50 years ago the world, then still deep into war, saw the onset of an increasingly popular form of music, a revived traditional jazz, which retained its mass appeal for at least the next two decades. The term ‘traditional’ when applied to jazz means many things to its listeners. In essence it is an umbrella term used simply to categorise a number of jazz varieties from its early 20th Century prototype in New Orleans to the several styles of 'hot', essentially black, jazz that rose to flower in the war years and gradually decayed in the '20s - from the black-inspired jazz of Bix Beiderbecke and the white Chicagoans of the '20s, to that of their dixieland disciples of the early 40s; the pre-Swing predominantly black big bands; and the many forms of piano and vocal jazz that co-existed with a this band music…

MAINSTREAM JAZZ: IS IT WORTHWHILE?

by Eric Myers

Official program, Sydney International Jazz Festival, March, 1992

When discussions took place on the contents of this souvenir program, it was agreed that the full vigour of Sydney jazz could be appreciated only if the three primary streams of the city's music were represented: the traditional, the mainstream, and the contemporary. None of these could be overlooked in a serious analysis of the jazz world just as musicians representing these streams could not be overlooked as performers in the festival. The Sydney International Jazz Festival has taken a comprehensive and novel approach…

AVANT-GARDE TO NEW ACCESSIBILITY: SOME MOVEMENTS IN SYDNEY EXPERIMENTAL JAZZ

by Gail Brennan/John Clare

Official program, Sydney International Jazz Festival, March, 1992

It may seem odd that allegedly avant-garde bands such as Wanderlust, Clarion Fracture Zone, The Necks, The Last Straw, Ten Part Invention, Lisa Parrott's Melody Rhythm Ensemble, The Engine Room, the Bernie McGann Trio, The catholics and Mark Simmonds's Freeboppers have found favour with a young audience for whom rock accessibility is a high priority if not a demand. Some very simple explanations can be found…