John Shand Posts

April 6, 2014 / Theatre Reviews - Archive

Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, April 4 George Orwell may have been awry in the time placement of his vision of worldwide totalitarianism, and he may have been unable to foresee the technological “advancements” that would befall us, but his 1949 warning of a bleak future remains salutary. In fact…

April 4, 2014 / Off The Cuff

He’s played with a who’s who of American, British and Australian jazz musicians. His classical compositions have been performed by orchestras including the Melbourne, Queensland and Tasmanian Symphonies. Now the circle has fully turned and Katoomba-raised Bruce Cale, one of the country’s foremost musicians and composers, is not only residing…

March 27, 2014 / Album Reviews - Archive

This Is Always (lionsharecords)  A tenor saxophone making gentle, sensuous jazz is a grand tradition, like paddle-steamers cruising on wide, slow rivers. Ben Webster Plays Ballads remains one of jazz’s must-have recordings, and now Julien Wilson eases his own tenor into that tradition, in the process creating one of the…