JAZZCHORD ARTICLES

Between 1993 and 2002, 53 editions of the bi-monthly magazine JazzChord were published as part of the National Jazz Co-ordination Program. This folder includes a selection of articles from those editions. Articles published in JazzChord appear on this site also in the JOHN CLARE, JAZZ CO-ORDINATION, BOOK REVIEWS, CONTRIBUTIONS and OBITUARIES folders. Readers can click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

1995 WANGARATTA FESTIVAL OF JAZZ & BLUES

by Eric Myers

JazzChord, Summer, 1995/96

Many people remarked that this sixth Wangaratta festival, held over November 3-6, 1995 was the best ever, and I would find it hard to disagree. There was a massive program of artists, and I don't have space here to comment on all the magnificent music that was played. But what struck me most was the infectious sense of fun that spread through the festival performances. This spirit in the air had much to do with the extraordinary Clusone Three, the group from Holland which was the hit of the festival…

THE WANGARATTA FESTIVAL 1997: STILL YIELDING RICHES

by John Clare

JazzChord, Summer 1997/98

At the first Wangaratta Festival in 1990 I began pinching myself, but failed to wake from that improbable dream. Eight years later I am still at it, but I am no longer alone. For some years it has been customary for critics - whether they were there at the beginning or not - to declare that this is the best Wangaratta yet. Have they been invariably better, year by year? I'm not so sure. Has there been a better one than that at which Arthur Blythe played? What has certainly happened is that the crowds have got bigger. I was surprised at that very first festival by the audience's openness to extremes of the jazz experience, from the deep traditionalism of Ade Monsbourgh to the jubilant out-on-the-edge rumpus of Musiikki Oy…

THE TENTH WANGARATTA FESTIVAL OF JAZZ & BLUES 1999

by John Clare

JazzChord, Summer 99/00

It was said again, as it has been each year since the first of these unique festivals, that this was the best Wangaratta. I have not always agreed. 1992, the year of Arthur Blythe, will probably never be surpassed for me, but there has not been a year in which I did not have a rich, inspiring, and even triumphant experience. The triumphalism stems from the fact that this is a form in permanent terminal crisis. Australia has a remarkable array of talent in all areas of jazz, but a handful of them play jazz regularly. For instance, I know of only one big swing band that works weekly - that of Brad Child in Sydney. How many of our great traditional bands work regularly? A handful. And so it goes. Yet Wangaratta has displayed year after year an abundant harvest grown in rather mean soil…