John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

July 6, 2017 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Foundry 616, June 16 8/10 Chemistry is more than white-coated scientists salivating about the interaction of substances, it’s about the way people interact. In improvisation certain players share antennae for where the music might go at any moment. Melbourne pianist Paul Grabowsky and Sydney drummer Simon Barker are like that.…

July 2, 2017 / Album Reviews - Archive

ELLA 100 (Verve) 9/10 Ella Fitzgerald was homeless when in 1934 she entered a talent quest at New York’s Apollo Theatre, intending to dance. Changing to singing at the last moment, she won. Her reputation as a queen among jazz singers, however, is predicated on her work from her mid-thirties…

June 30, 2017 / Concert Reviews - Archive

City Recital Hall, June 6 7.5/10 Singers become stars more easily than instrumentalists do because their voices and faces project personality more readily. And meanwhile they have lyrics for listeners to latch on to. Among current jazz singers Dianne Reeves probably radiates the most warmth as a person, and this…