John Shand Posts

July 1, 2018 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Eternity Playhouse, June 16 4.5/10 The French have a flair for lightness. It aerates their cooking, from choux pastry to souffle, their music from Offenbach to Satie, and even their very language, with all those silent consonants. And of course it is especially prevalent in their humour, from Voltaire to…

July 1, 2018 / Album Reviews - Archive

RETURNINGS (ECM) 9/10 Self-effacement is a handy trait for an improviser. You would never discern that Jakob Bro was this band’s leader, for instance, simply by listening. The Danish guitarist’s main concern has been creating contexts to maximise his colleagues’ creativity. And what colleagues! From the absolute vanguard of Scandinavian…

June 26, 2018 / Concert Reviews - Archive

City Recital Hall, June 13 6.5/10 Like the other party in a thorny marriage, Madeleine Peyroux can vex as much as she enchants. After an intimate opening, in which she just accompanied herself on acoustic guitar for three tunes, an expert band joined her to revisit the song that opened…