Welcome
Sandro Shar
Pianist • Composer • Multi-Instrumentalist • Researcher
Meet Sandro Shar
Sandro Shar is a British-Georgian jazz pianist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and researcher.
Most widely known for his work with acclaimed artists and bands such as Knats, Geordie Greep and Eddie Chacon, Sandro has contributed to a wide range of projects, tours and recordings.
His solo project, however, is only just getting started:
Tamariani, due for release this winter, is an audio-visual album and stage show based on the 19th-century Georgian epic poem of the same name by the legendary poet and chanter Simon Gugunava, also a distant relative of Sandro’s. This large-scale work, combining Georgian polyphony with jazz, classical and experimental electronic approaches, is accompanied by a documentary made in collaboration with filmmaker Jan Heitplatz. The film follows an expedition to the Guria region to explore the poem, its author, their familial connection, and the region’s folklore.
His compositional work spans a wide range of contexts, including solo piano, jazz small and big band, classical ensembles, and commercial music for adverts.
Across these varied settings runs a consistent thread: Georgian traditional polyphonic music.
As a researcher, Sandro has worked extensively with archival materials of Georgian polyphony, including historical recordings from the early decades of the 20th century. The old tuning system and sophisticated improvisatory practices heard in these recordings have become a central focus, informing not only his compositional and improvisational voice, but also his work as a practitioner of the tradition itself.
Alongside its practical outcomes, this research has also found its way into academic contexts, with presentations at conferences including the 2026 BFE Conference in London, the 2025 SMA Conference in Manchester, and the 2024 IRCTP Symposium in Tbilisi.
As a co-founder of Georgian Music House, a teaching studio and cultural centre for Georgian traditional music in the UK, Sandro regularly leads workshops and classes, with a focus on the improvisational and compositional processes that once characterised the pre-Soviet Georgian folk idiom.
"Unfeasibly fast piano solo" - Uncut Magazine
“Sandro’s knowledge of Georgian polyphony is both deep and practical. He studies historical recordings and archival materials carefully, and his compositional work shows how these traditions can be naturally and creatively woven into new musical contexts. His elaborations feel authentically Georgian, even when combined with contemporary or cross-cultural elements.” - Nana Mzhavanadze, acclaimed Ethnomusicologist, singer and educator
"Sandro teaches with a wonderful combination of expertise and ease. He has such a deep knowledge of Georgian polyphony, music theory and jazz, and shares it in a warm, generous and accessible way."
Holly Taylor Zuntz, leader Perebi Choir, Co-host 'Voices of the Ancestors' podcast.
ANCESTRAL TONES
Ancestral Tones, a blog and platform founded by Sandro, studies folkloric traditions around the world, to better understand the historical meaning, function, sound and spirit of musical expression. It brings together research and reflection on the ways music has shaped human life across cultures, and how those roles continue to shift in an increasingly standardised and commodified landscape.
GEORGIAN POLYPHONY PLAYER
Sandro’s bespoke online Georgian polyphony player brings together some of the earliest and most iconic recorded voices of the tradition. Still a work in progress, it offers an accessible way to encounter this ancient musical world through the archival recordings that have preserved it. Feel free to explore.
