jOHN Pochée BIOGRAPHY
This folder contains reviews and articles pertaining to Eric Myers’s biography of the late Australian drummer/bandleader John Pochée, who died in November, 2022, Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of reviews or articles in this folder.
The Last Straw
THE LAST STRAW: IT'S NAMED ONLY PARTLY IN JEST
by John Clare
Jazz Australia, 1978
Sitting close to them is often like being in the teeth of a tricky surf. The drummer develops more forward momentum than anyone playing in Australia, but he does it by running around the beat and pouncing back to scare it on. There is a sustained hissing, scary crashes, deep thuds of punctuation, waves of energy which veer and nearly topple…
THE LAST STRAW RETURNS
by Mike Williams
Daily Telegraph, March 14, 1983
Ken James
THE LAST STRAW AT THE PICCADILLY HOTEL 1987
by Gail Brennan/John Clare
Sydney Morning Herald, August 11, 1987
It is probable that The Last Straw has kept a unique collective identity intact longer than any other band in Australian jazz or rock. Yet they can still sound remarkably fresh, and even futuristic. On Sunday, however, they began the evening with an unremarkable set, played to a sparse audience. Through most of the second set they sounded like a good, satisfying hard-bop band, but no more. Then the last number of this set, their old Latin-funk warhorse Atlantis, suddenly exploded as Bernie McGann's alto shot its bolts of energy off at every conceivable angle. Bassist Lloyd Swanton was moved to open his mouth wide and bellow, as if he could find no other adequate accompaniment to this extraordinary solo…