reviews

[Kenny]

Check out this over-the-top review, by a punter at Amazon.com, of Aaron Choulai's Place. Unfortunately, the effect is lessened somewhat by the fact this guy has reviewed more than 500 albums/books, and 90 per cent plus he gives 5 stars to! Still ...

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00020W0W4/qid%3D1089430682/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-8798020-8651305

I'd love it OJF folkses posted reviews etc here, of other Australian albums and anything in general. I'm a media slut.

[Kenny]

This one from the UK mag Jazzwise:

Mike Nock's
Big Small Band
Live
****
Mike Nock emerged as a gifted pianist through the ensembles of Yusef Lateef and John Handy and less well known stints with Sonny Stitt, Sam Rivers, Art Blakey, Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Lionel Hampton and Dionne Warwick before forming Fourth Way, one of the seminal jazz-rock bands of the 1960s. He is still extremely active as a performer and educator at Sydney Conservatorium's Jazz Studies course, and was musical director of Naxos Jazz (1996-2001). While he has released several albums with his trio, an Australia Council Fellowship made it possible to form a big small band - the words are carefully chosen by Nock since his aim is to keep the intimacy of a small group with a larger ensemble. Recorded live in 2002 during an Australian tour, this crackling ensemble never puts a foot wrong. Nock's compositions are so well crafted, the musicians launch themselves into them with audible glee. 'Current Reality' is a high energy latin jazz composition featuring Cameron Deyell on guitar and Andrew Robson's alto which are integrated into the fabric of the piece so that ensemble flows logically into solo and then back to ensemble, sustaining the forward momentum of the piece and setting the standard for the rest of the album. 'Dance of the Global Village' is a highly apposite title, with shimmering textures and orchestral colours while the band set up a superb groove on 'Courting the Edge of Angst and Ecstacy' with a great solo by Nock and Andrew Robson. The only non-Nock composition is Andrea Keller's 'Three Portraits of a Simpleton', apparently inspired by the poem 'Death of, an Idiot' by Charles Bukowski. Keller, a winner at last year's Australian Jazz Awards, is a musician of enormous promise and it says much of her stature that Nock has included her work. It is perhaps inevitable that one of the first musicians to successfully combine jazz and rock in the 1960s BM (before Miles) should include a number of rock allusions, and 'Slum Goddess' represents a look over his shoulder at a distinguished past by a great, if neglected musician. Overall, the album shows the great strength of Australian jazz, with a young ensemble playing with typical and delightful - Aussie bravado.

Stuart Nicholson

[Kenny]

This one a recent posting on the Australian Kaz Korner at AAJ:

Australian jazz

Well reading all these interesting threads I was quite exited when I discovered
that Australian jazz will be featured tonight in Cape Town.
So I bought my ticket, completely unaware what I was going to listen to.
First on the stage was a trio led by Gerard Masters on piano, Jasper Leak on bass and Nicolas Mc Bride on drums.
They played a kind of a "new-world" or should I say "new age" jazz.
Definetely no jazz feel, and the original played was weak, the drummer had more of a rock feel than jazz, then came a "jazz singer" named Justine Bradley, what can I say, nice voice, but again no jazz feel of any kind.
Then a young quite good guitar player joined the trio, his name, James Muller,
well thing did pick up, he is a good musician, more bluesy tha jazzy but as some talent. The evening went on with different musicians combinations
but at the end of the day it was a very "forgetable" evening.
The only Australian jazz musician that I know I do enjoy is Bernie McGann.
But then again I do not know many.
I would not buy any music of the musicians I 've seen and hear tonight.
They called themselves "Mosaic"
I am sure that they do not represent the real quality of Australian jazz.
Sorry if I've been a little harsh, but it is MY honest opinion.

[VHB]

I think we should start giving the reviews, reviews. I give the above review 1/2 star out of a possible five.

[Kenny]

Actually, it's probably a little unfair to runs this here as a review, as it was a post on a discussion board. I know nothing about this fellow - or what he considers a real "jazz feel".

I just thought it was worth noting that somebody had seen some OzJazz in South Africa.