John Shand Posts

June 11, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

Concert Hall, June 1 On paper it looked a winning formula: two of the most admired and influential jazz pianists of the last half century, two grand pianos and a wide open musical sky. The possible blot was that Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock have clocked up at least a…

June 9, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

The Basement, May 30 You see it in all fields of life, from dancing to gardening and from surgery to football: some people are born with a gift, others with steely determination. The great have both. Whatever Richard Bona’s determination quotient the New York-based Cameroonian was certainly born to make…

June 6, 2015 / Concert Reviews - Archive

The Basement, May 27 The mating of music and venue is always critical. The last time I heard New York’s The Bad Plus they were on an outdoor festival stage, and all the nuance so in evidence here was lost: nuance that is not just the icing on their cake,…