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.

LISA PARROTT: OUT OF SIGHT

by Jim McLeod

Australasian Jazz & Blues, Volume 2, No 2, 1995 and Volume 2, No 3, 1995

Lisa Parrott first impressed me some years ago when Mike Nock brought some of his best students for a recording session, and the one who stood out, way ahead of them all, was saxophonist Lisa. Now one of Australia's most creative jazz musicians, she has studied in New York with leading saxophonist Steve Coleman, as you'll read in the text of this listening session we had recently. Lisa knew nothing of the tracks I played until after she'd given her opinions, when she sometimes gave further comment…

DAVID JONES: THE SPIRIT FLIES

by John Shand

Australasian Jazz & Blues, Volume 2, No 1, 1995

Perhaps the world at large has tended to judge drummers more on their "thrill" value than their musical value. However, balanced against this is the fact that an aura of magic surrounds great drummers and percussionists. To see the likes of Nana Vasconcelos, Mehmet Ozan, Don Moye, Max Roach, Andy Newmark, or Akira Tana in action is to witness a wizard weaving spells. They generate a feeling of the impossible being achieved. And this in addition to all they are generating musically. The above list of names, can, of course, be expanded considerably, but not ad infinitum. These drumming necromancers are a breed apart. They are the drummer's drummers. David Jones is one of them…

JEREMY ROSE, WILLIAM PARKER AND PAUL GRABOWSKY: CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC

by Ian Muldoon

August 17, 2021

Jeremy Rose has produced a work based on a masterpiece about our nation’s beginnings in which truths are revealed about our identity. William Parker has produced a body of work engendered by his experience as an African American steeped in its musical legacy, which work is among the most substantial by any musician in recent memory with the purpose of making connections between all humans. Paul Grabowsky has produced a suite which features music from of one the oldest cultures on earth helping to make connections between it and us. This suite is one of the more recent in Grabowsky’s oeuvre, a part of his artistic legacy which must stand as substantial as any in our history. It’s through art that we connect, however humble that art may seem at times…