John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

March 21, 2017 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Django Bar, February 26 7.5/10 All improvisation involves letting some air breathe through holes in the music’s fabric and cross-stitching over others. In Hindustani music there are not just holes between beats in the rhythm, but between pitches in the scale or raga. So it’s no wonder the modern strain…

March 20, 2017 / Concert Reviews - Archive

The Basement, February 19 9/10 There’s music that skims surfaces and music that excavates the very ground on which we walk. In the 11 years since Omar Sosa was last here I’ve heard precious little to rate with this performance. It was so brimming with magic and mystery that it…

March 17, 2017 / Album Reviews - Archive

A FLOWER IS A LOVESOME THING (http://michellenicolle.com/) 8/10 Top sports people, from racing drivers to tennis players, appear to slow down time, so there’s more of it in which to act and react. For improvising musicians this ability is a must. As a result the best ones make the process…