John Shand | Music & Other Spheres Posts

December 19, 2017 / Album Reviews - Archive

JAZZ AT BERLIN PHILHARMONIC – MEDITERRANEO (ACT/Planet) 8.5/10 Collaborations between jazz musicians and orchestras generally flatter neither party. The classical players, who signed on to perform Mozart and Mahler, are reduced to playing lame backgrounds, while the jazz players are straightjacketed by the surrounding inflexibility. This album breaks that mould,…

December 17, 2017 / Album Reviews - Archive

LIVE IN CHICAGO (DGM) 9/10 Has there ever been a more polarising band? Revered or reviled with no mid-ground, King Crimson has had nine incarnations across 48 years with guitarist Robert Fripp the sole common denominator. It has performed a greater breadth of music than any band in rock history:…

December 13, 2017 / Album Reviews - Archive

STANDARDS (Decca) 6.5/10 The list keeps growing: Rod Stewart, Bryan Ferry, Robbie Williams, Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox and Bob Dylan are among the many pop stars to have a shot at singing jazz standards – with varying levels of success or embarrassment. Now it’s Seal’s turn, and the…