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.
Judy Bailey
DR JUDY BAILEY OAM: A CELEBRATION OF LIFE MUSIC AND MEMORIES
Reviewed by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, December 13, 2025
This event amply celebrated Judy Bailey’s life, and it would be difficult to describe for those who were unable to attend, how heartwarming it was. When Judy died in August, 2025, there was naturally an outpouring of love and affection for her on social media, and for that matter in the media generally. The obituary I wrote at the time can be read on Sydney Arts Guide at this link https://sydneyartsguide.com.au/vale-dr-judy-bailey-oam-1935-2025/. Other excellent obits appeared, written by Henry Rasmussen (ABC Jazz), and John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald). Those obits did great justice to Judy’s life and work, but I was moved especially by the tribute to her, entitled “We Lost a Titan Last Night”, which Steve Barry posted on Facebook the morning after Judy’s death. That’s now on my website at this link https://ericmyersjazz.com/contributions-17...
Ian Date (painting by Pat Qua)
GEORGE WASHINGMACHINE & IAN DATE: CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF PLAYING TOGETHER
Reviewed by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, December 25, 2025
This concert at Church Street Studios on Saturday December 20 celebrated the 40th anniversary of two of Australia’s greatest jazz musicians playing together: singer/violinist George Washingmachine and guitarist Ian Date, who met in 1985. These two masters were joined by two similarly outstanding musicians, drummer Andrew Dickeson and a relatively new kid on the block, double bassist Jacob Graham. This quartet produced a faultless exhibition of what one might call “small band swing jazz”, which contained endless delights…
Enji
LOCAL JAZZ MUSICIANS EXCLUDED FROM THE 2026 SYDNEY FESTIVAL
by Eric Myers
Sydney Arts Guide, December 27, 2025
The Sydney Festival describes itself as “a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January...” It’s a non-profit organisation which relies on the support of state and local governments, corporate sponsors and private donors to deliver a vibrant, month-long event every January. The next festival runs from January 8-25, 2026… I looked at the program to see if there were appropriate jazz performances I could attend. Many art forms are represented in a massive program: theatre, dance, opera, blues, classical music, soul, you name it. However, I could identify only one jazz performance, and it features a female vocalist called Enji, performing at ACO On The Pier on Fri, January 16. If you’re wondering who Enji is, she’s from Mongolia and now lives in Germany. However, am I naïve in believing that, in an era in which our local jazz musicians are flowering, we might expect that some of our leading jazz ensembles might get a guernsey on this festival program?