John Shand Posts

January 4, 2020 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Venue 505, December 14 8.5/10 They began with As the Flow Cries from Barney McAll’s new An Extra Celestial Christmas album, and ended with Nectar Spur from the pianist’s 2015 Mooroolbark opus. The final note marked the end of the last Saturday night at Venue 505, which closes its doors…

January 2, 2020 / Album Reviews - Archive

CAFE GRAND ABYSS (ReR Megacorp) 9/10 Of all the many wonders of free improvisation, perhaps the most extraordinary is the way the music places itself beyond the confines of time. This happens both in the moment of creation, and, if recorded, on playback. Transient time, as we know it, ceases…

January 1, 2020 / Concert Reviews - Archive

City Recital Hall, December 13 7/10 As ingenious as the lyrics of Cole Porter, Ira Gershiwn, Lorenz Hart and others might be, the secret to a song becoming a standard lies not in the words. It’s the countless jazz instrumental renditions that ultimately raise a song to “standard” status. But…