Eric Myers Jazz

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.

LISTEN TO THIS: DISCOVER BEETHOVEN WITH BENJAMIN NORTHEY

Reviewed by Eric Myers

Sydney Arts Guide, September 21, 2026

In the third of this year’s excellent “Listen To This” concerts, on Tuesday September 15, conductor Benjamin Northey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra dissected Beethoven’s Symphony No 7. The orchestra played short excerpts from the symphony while Northey provided explanations in, as it was billed, “a concert helping you to understand, explore and listen to orchestral music like never before.” Conductor and orchestra had similarly taken apart Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5 at a concert I attended in March, and also Elgar’s Cello Concerto in June…

EMMA PASK AT THE LOUNGE IN CHATSWOOD

Reviewed by Eric Myers

Sydney Arts Guide, September 22, 2026

This sold-out concert at The Lounge on September 17, 2026, with the somewhat ambiguous title of High Standards was appropriately named, in my view. It featured the outstanding vocalist Emma Pask in an impressive follow-up to her debut concert at this venue 12 months ago in September, 2025. Once again her performance was a musical experience which stimulated serious admiration that such a level of excellence was possible. At the same time this was also a splendid demonstration of what I believe is still the essential language of jazz: an exploration of the standards that are part of the Great American Songbook…

CHRIS McNULTY’S SOUL JOURNEY: A FIVE STAR ALBUM

Reviewed by Eric Myers

Sydney Arts Guide, October 5, 2026

 This piece is based on a press release prepared to assist in the marketing of Chris McNulty’s new album Soul Journey, which was released on the label Pearl Coast Jazz on April 17, 2026. The promotional spiel reads: “Vocalist, composer & arranger Chris McNulty has entered the recording studio after a ten-year absence, with her 8th album, her first in Australia since her return from New York in 2015. The new album has 13 tracks, seven of which feature McNulty’s original compositions, with a stellar band of leading jazz musicians accompanying her”…