sydney arts guide
This folder contains reviews written by Eric Myers for the Sydney Arts Guide, edited by David Kary. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of reviews or articles in this folder.
Mike Nock
FOUNDRY 616 PRESENTS MIKE NOCK QUARTET
Reviewed by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, July 8, 2025
This splendid evening at Foundry 616 prompted many mixed feelings. It featured the penultimate performance at this legendary jazz venue, scheduled to close its doors the following evening, on Saturday, June 28. It presented perhaps the most iconic musician in Australian jazz, pianist Mike Nock, who had performed many times in Foundry over its 12-year history, with a variety of accompanying musicians. On this occasion his quartet included Karl Laskowski (tenor saxophone), Brett Hirst (double bass), and Toby Hall (drums). As usual club owner Peter Rechniewski introduced the musicians. This occasion was celebratory but at the same time filled with a degree of sadness. Rechniewski was entitled to bask in the sold out audience’s admiration, given Foundry’s 12 years of service to the Sydney jazz community. He expressed thanks to those to whom he owed a particular debt, such as his wife Liz Rechniewski, and Jane March, harking back to the old days of the Sydney Improvised Music Association (SIMA), where Peter Rechniewski was artistic director for 28 years…
Nicki Parrott
NICKI PARROTT AT THE LOUNGE IN CHATSWOOD
Reviewed by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, July 8, 2025
The last time I saw Nicki Parrott was 35 years ago in Sydney in 1990, when she performed with the trio The Engine Room, playing with two visiting Russian musicians, pianist Daniel Kramer and trumpeter Alexander Fischer. At that time she was generally regarded as a promising young double bassist on the scene. In the previous year 1989, The Engine Room - pianist/saxophonist Roger Frampton, drummer John Pochée and bassist Steve Elphick – pulled off a triumphant three-week visit to what was then the Soviet Union, which luckily I was able to accompany. This was a fantastic and memorable experience for all. In the following year, when the two Russians did a return visit, Elphick was unavailable, so Parrott came in to fill the breach…
Liz Player
LIZ PLAYER AT CHURCH STREET SESSIONS
Reviewed by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, July 10, 2025
This concert at Church Street Studios in Camperdown featured the young singer Liz Player, 21, the 2025 2MBS Jazz Artist in Residence. Still at the Sydney Conservatorium, studying for her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance, she is perhaps best regarded as an emerging artist. At this gig, she launched her new EP Crystalline, an impressive 24-minute product containing five numbers. Church Street Studios, an unusually small venue, has room for an audience of about 60, and it was packed to the rafters by those who had come to support and applaud a new star in the making…