While I may have reservations about the sheer size of the London Jazz Festival, I long ago stopped asking myself whether this or that act can really be described as ‘jazz’. What matters for the individual in the audience, after all, is whether he or she enjoys the music, and the organisers’ highly inclusive approach … Continue reading Norwegian good: the Nils Økland Band in London
Should you find yourself in central London with half an hour or more to spend, there is currently a terrific exhibition - admission free - at Somerset House. It's devoted to the photography of the late Malick Sidibé, who died earlier this year aged 80 or thereabouts. Sidibé, who as a boy in the late 1930s … Continue reading An Eye on Mali: the Photography of Malick Sidibé
I have loved the music of Jean Sibelius and Dmitri Shostakovich ever since my teens. Back then they were probably more important to me than Beethoven, and right up there with King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, David Ackles and other rock favourites. I bought their symphonies and concertos on budget labels like Classics for … Continue reading Two musical evenings: Shostakovich and Sibelius
It’s fitting, I suppose, that for my first-ever blog I should write about what was my highlight of the recent BFI London Film Festival – fitting not so much because of my professional involvement with the Festival, but because the highlight in question featured a combination of film and music, two of the … Continue reading Great old movie, great new music by Garth Knox
notes and observations by Geoff Andrew 