Ian Shaw - Drawn To All Things (The Songs Of Joni Mitchell) 2006

Jazzwise / Andy Robson

Sometimes an album just comes out right: an artist on top of his game, at one with material he loves but doesn't let seduce him, aided and abetted by a producer able to go lush or intimate, guests who are really close friends and a "band that plays so sneaky you can't help how you feel". As Joni might say. "Drawn to All Things", Ian Shaw's first UK recorded album for a decade is just one of those releases. A celebration of the Joni Mitchell songbook, this isn't Mitchell "done" jazz any more than it's Shaw gone West Coast rock; it's just (just!) a gloriously musical album, with Shaw particularly drawn to Mitchell the story teller; listen to how Shaw teases out the scurrilous tale of Harlem in Havana, with Shaw the actor (and comic) able to dramatically recreate the song, not just sing it. And his band are dramatic players in the story too, with Lea De Laria as the scatting MC or Guy Barker's trumpet shouting out loud as, um, a fairground barker.

Shaw also opens out the vulnerability and the joys in Mitchell songs; A Case of You here is as naked as the original "Blue" version, while by contrast Chelsea Morning brims butterscotch full of joy. Indeed, although both Mitchell and Shaw have (undeserved) reputations as gloomy folk, one of the glories of this album is how even in the darkest moments there's a note of beauty to be found, like the moon at the window. The thieves can't take that away. Whether "Drawn to All Things" can do "a Norah Jones" for Shaw is neither here nor there. But if you want an album that's about touching souls, then look no further. A fine album.

Jericho

Moon at the Window

Night in the City

Edith and the Kingpin

Harlem in Havana

A Case of You

Barangrill

Chelsea Morning

Love or Money

Talk to Me

River

Night Ride Home

Both Sides Now

Stay in Touch

with Janette Mason (piano), Tim Lapthorn (piano), Ian Shaw (piano, electric piano), Simon Little (bass), Mark Fletcher (drums), Miles Bould (percussion), Guy Barker (trumpet), Nigel Hitchcock (saxes) David Preston (guitar), Jim Mullen (guitar), Richard Cottle (additional keyboards), Lea de Laria (guest vocal), Claire Martin (guest vocal). The Tapestry Strings: Andrew Haveron (violin), Frances Andrade (violin), Levine Andrade (viola), Bozidar Vukotic (cello)

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Ian Shaw - The Theory Of Joy (Deluxe Edition) 2016

by Brian Blain / londonjazznews

This CD finds Ian Shaw not sitting in his apparently natural habitat at a piano, but having replaced his own accompaniment with an excellent trio. There is no doubt that Shaw is a good pianist, but this format seems to free him upto really focus on his vocal performance - which he does with accuracy and aplomb. 

The 12 tracks on the CD version show an excellent mix of material from Bart to Bowie, plus three Shaw originals. The opening Small Day Tomorrow (a useful concept for the jazz enthusiast, staying up late as you only have a small day tomorrow) quickly opens up to allow Barry Green to sparkle on piano. Shaw's voice seems to have something of the light touch and agility of Joni Mitchell about it, and this becomes even more clear on the Canadian artist's own In France They Kiss On Main Street. The section in which Shaw sings over Mick Hutton's round-sounding bass and Dave Ohm's tight-yet-dynamic brushes is a particular delight. 

The Bowie song is Where Are We Now, from 2013's The Next Day album. This is a wistful song, looking back with a little regret, and Shaw turns in an impassioned performance. The album was recorded in summer 2015 before the shock recent news of Bowie's death, and the number makes a very fitting tribute. Mick Hutton must surely produce the most sonorous double bass tone in London, and he uses it to great effect here and throughout the album. This reflective mood carries on into Legrand/Bergman/Bergman's How Do You Keep The Music Playing, a song of love an uncertainty looking into a long-term relationship which Shaw renders beautifully -tears in this listener's eyes at any rate. 

The three original songs come grouped together towards the end of the album. My Brother, about Shaw's brother Gareth who died before Ian was born, is catchy and meaningful. It's been rightly receiving radio plays - check out the video link below, which ties it in to Ian's work with refugees in Calais. All This And Betty Too is a jazz-filled romp with Shaw remembering listening to Betty Carter in Ronnie Scott's with Claire Martin, a long-term friend who also produced this album. A trio reworking of Somewhere Towards Love (chosen in its solo version as a Desert Island Disc by both Molly Parkin and Julian Clary) sees the song moving with a little more urgency, and it's great to get another way to hear it. As if to stress Shaw's versatility, we move from a pointed You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two (sung with social comment in mind, surely) to a closing If You Go Away/Ne Me Quitte Pas, in Brel-ish style over Green's solo accompaniment. 

This collection has great variety, yet is defined at its core by four top-class musicians on their own terms. If, like me, you have enjoyed Ian Shaw's live performances but never yet taken the plunge with an album, this is a wonderful place to start. It's also available on double vinyl with three bonus tracks including Clive Gregson's Last Man Alive and Mel Tormé's Born To Be Blue. Cracking.

01. Small Day Tomorrow (3:13)

02. You Fascinate Me So (4:48)

03. In France They Kiss On Main Street (3:55)

04. Where Are We Now (5:29)

05. Everything (3:03)

06. How Do You Keep The Music Playing (5:03)

07. You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two (3:24)

08. My Brother (4:31)

09. All This And Betty Too (2:41)

10. Somewhere Towards Love (4:21)

11. The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys (5:27)

12. If You Go Away/Ne Me Quitte Pas (3:14)

13. The Shadow (Bonus Track) (4:22)

14. Born To Be Blue (Bonus Track) (2:41)

15. Last Man Alive (Bonus Track) (4:46)

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