Two days after the release of Blackstar in January 2016 David Bowie was dead. But what was Bowie’s artistic last will and testament proved a new dawn for Donny McCaslin, the New York jazz saxophonist whose group backed Bowie on the album. Suddenly he and his band were catapulted to…
John Shand Posts
On Tuesday May 30 I’m lucky enough to be giving the second Jackie Orszaczky Music Lecture at the Basement. It is called meaning Each Note: Truth, Universality and Cultural Amnesia. Into it I’ll weave Jackie’s grand legacy as well as some more, er, opinionated thrusts. After my half-lecture the Jackie Orszaczky Budget…
NOT EVEN HAPPINESS (Spunk) 8.5/10 You can imagine Julie Byrnes having dreamt these songs, then awaking in the wee hours to hurriedly jot down them down. Her voice, mostly just riding on her own charming acoustic guitar, subtle electronics and Jake Falby’s restrained string arrangements, seems to float in an…