JOHN CLARE

This folder is dedicated to the work of John Clare, who began writing in the early 70s, and has long been regarded as the doyen of Australian jazz writers. Helen Garner, in her preface to Clare's book Take Me Higher, describes how she used to cut out his writings under his Gail Brennan pseudonym and paste them into her diary. Originally she thought the articles were written by a woman. She describes his writing as "superbly literate and articulate, deeply informed, yet completely ordinary in tone, even at their most elated. A relaxed freedom flowed through everything he wrote. He was fearless. He rejoices. He celebrated”. Many of John Clare's articles that were published previously in various publications are collected here. Click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

THE LAST STRAW ALBUM REVIEW 1991

by Gail Brennan/John Clare

Sydney Morning Herald, March 5, 1991

Local band The Last Straw are far less extreme on record than Sun Ra (although they often incorporate free interludes in their live performances that get right out there), but their sound, attack, phrasing and spirit are quite singular. Here are more notes from underground that, like Sun Ra's Purple Night, are beginning to reach a wider audience. Bernie McGann's Mex, with the moving solo by the composer, is becoming a minor hit, but the band is the star here…

THE LAST STRAW: FRESH AND UNMISTAKABLE

by Gail Brennan/John Clare

Sydney Morning Herald, September 11, 1992

The Last Straw was formed in the 1970s, but the individualism of older members John Pochée and Bernie McGann was controversial long before that. They go back to a time when local musicians were judged exclusively on their closeness to American models. "Cultural cringe" was an apt enough coinage. Young audiences have always responded to The Last Straw, and judging by the reaction of mature-age Jazz Action Society members this week, the band's acceptance is complete. Changes in repertoire have sometimes been slow in coming, so it was very heartening to hear a predominantly fresh program, which included a new piece by Lloyd Swanton and two by McGann…

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…