Don Burrows Quartet
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DON BURROWS QUARTET: SHOWCASE FOR A TALENTED NEWCOMER by Eric Myers _______________________________________________________________ The Don Burrows Quartet with James Morrison The Rothbury Estate, Pokolbin Sydney Morning Herald, April 8, 1980 _______________________________________________________________ t is difficult to imagine a more pleasant afternoon than one spent on the Rothbury Estate, with the sun shining, the wine flowing, and jazz provided I by Don Burrows, George Golla and their colleagues. At this concert, Burrows (clarinet, flute and alto saxophone) and Golla (guitar) gave a roaring display of the swinging, mainstream jazz that is appealing and relaxing for so many people. In their playing, there are few signs of the atonality, chromaticism and dissonance which characterise much contemporary modern jazz, and this perhaps explains their great popularity with middle-of-the-road jazz lovers. Don Burrows (left, flute) and George Golla (guitar): a roaring display of the swinging, mainstream jazz that is appealing and relaxing for so many people…PHOTO COURTESY JAZZ AUSTRALIA Tony Ansell, as always, played the keyboards with high energy and vitality. For many years now, he has been astounding orthodox pianists by playing the keyboard bass with his left hand, while producing brilliant accompaniment and solos on electric piano or synthesiser with his right hand —in effect, playing an instrument with each hand, and enabling either to function independently of the other. I was often surprised to hear the drummer, Stuart Livingston, laying 1 down a strong off-beat on the snare drum in many places which, to my way of thinking, tended to prevent the music from completely swinging. Tony Ansell: playing the keyboard bass with his left hand, while producing brilliant accompaniment and solos on electric piano or synthesiser with his right hand…PHOTO CREDIT JANE MARCH COURTESY JAZZ MAGAZINE 18-year-old James Morrison: a showcase for his burgeoning talent and versatility…PHOTO COURTESY DAVID MARTIN 2 But this is a minor quibble; the soloists were in such a vigorous mood that the general energy of the music easily transcended the somewhat deadening effect of the off-beat, whenever it was employed. This concert was, in many ways, a showcase for the burgeoning talent and versatility of James Morrison, who is known for his trombone work with the Young Northside Big Band. Here, he played not only trombone, but also trumpet and euphonium with astonishing facility. Since each of these instruments requires a different embouchure, or lip position, Morrison’s mastery of these instruments is a major achievement at the age of 18. His playing was always thrilling at this concert, and he was in no way outclassed by the surrounding musicians who are, after all, some of the hottest players in Australian jazz. James Morrison (right, then 17 years old) snapped with the legendary Melbourne trumpeter Frank Johnson. This was taken at the first Manly Jazz Festival, then called the Manly Jazz Carnival, in1979… PHOTO COURTESY DAVID MARTIN ____________________________________________________________________________ 3 .