JOHN CLARE

This section is dedicated to the work of John Clare, who began writing in the early 70s, and has long been regarded as the doyen of Australian jazz writers. Helen Garner, in her preface to Clare's book Take Me Higher, describes how she used to cut out his writings under his Gail Brennan pseudonym and paste them into her diary. Originally she thought the articles were written by a woman. She describes his writing as "superbly literate and articulate, deeply informed, yet completely ordinary in tone, even at their most elated. A relaxed freedom flowed through everything he wrote. He was fearless. He rejoices. He celebrated. Years later, an art critic who admired him said to me: John Clare’s an ecstatic.” Many of John Clare's articles that were published previously in various publications are collected here. Click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

EDDIE HENDERSON & DALE BARLOW

by John Clare

Sydney Morning Herald, February 6, 1993

Eddie Henderson's mother was a dancer at the Cotton Club, and she can be seen on a Fats Waller short — or "soundie" as these precursors of the video clip were called. Dr Henderson (he is qualified in medicine and psychiatry) has transferred the family dancing tradition to the trumpet. Poised like a panther and clad in the sort of loose black outfit that Japanese puppeteers and Kabuki stagehands wear, Henderson spun out brass lines that danced in dazzling patterns on and across the beat, with many a crackling, percussive flare, lyrical descent and heart-stopping grand jeté. His use of space as a dynamic element was sometimes punctuated by a spontaneous burst of body music somewhere between a tap dance and the Ali shuffle…

OLIVIA CHINDAMO’S KEEP AN EYE ON SPRING

Reviewed by John Clare

Loudmouth, April 2, 2017

And this disc? Melbourne filled me. Mid-1950s St Kilda in particular. My first live experience of contemporary jazz (of that time) was there at Jazz Centre 44, organised by Horst Liepolt. Here I was startled by the ecstasy of virtuosity and lyricism entwined in the very air before me. Actually the levels since reached by the musicians on this disc (and I include the vocalist) overall surpass those of most of the heroes I heard back in those hallowed days. Except for a couple, one of whom is a special guest here – the great Graeme Lyall…

MUTATIONS DOWN UNDER

An overview by John Clare

Coda Magazine, January 2000

New recorded jazz from Australia has surprised some international listeners. Because of the isolation of Australia before European settlement, some odd species developed here. In jazz music terms we are still a long flight away for an international artist, across time zones and with a limited number of engagements waiting at this end. Perhaps the principle of isolation is still at work in the evolution of Antipodean jazz. While many overseas fans seem to have the impression that Australian jazz is dominated by a style that has been dubbed Brit-trad, others have made some surprising discoveries. International critics have now acknowledged the power and originality of alto saxophonist Bernie McGann. His is a case of independent development — or you might call it mutation in isolation…