The Theory of Joy Ian Shaw

• 1Small Day Tomorrow03:15
• 2You Fascinate Me So04:50
• 3In France They Kiss On Main Street03:57
• 4Where Are We Now?05:32
• 5Everything03:07
• 6How Do You Keep The Music Playing05:06
• 7You've Got To Pick A Pocket Or Two03:26
• 8My Brother04:34
• 9All This And Betty Too02:43
• 10Somewhere Towards Love04:23
• 11The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys05:30
• 12If You Go Away / Ne Me Quitte Pas03:19
• 13The Shadow04:26
• 14Born To Be Blue02:42
• 15Last Man Alive04:49
• Total Runtime01:01:39

Info for The Theory of Joy

Ian Shaw - jazz singer, songwriter (plus stand-up comedian, radio presenter and producer!) - has returned to working with that classic jazz ensemble, the piano trio. A frequent and accomplished solo performer, for this new recording Ian craved a bit of company, and what company he found… the outstanding pianist Barry Green, distinguished bassist Mick Hutton and ace drummer Dave Ohm, three of the UK’s very finest players.

The group has been performing an exciting set of brand new arrangements at festivals and club dates in the UK and Europe, including four recent sell-out shows at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Club. These finely honed new songs were then captured for this new release, “The Theory Of Joy”. Recorded at Snap! Studios in North London in the summer of 2015, Ian was thrilled to have the world-renowned singer Claire Martin as his producer.

The involvement of the visionary sound engineer Joe Leach on the project fulfilled another long-held wish.

Recorded July-August 2015 at Snap! Studios, London
Engineered by Joe Leach Produced by Claire Martin

Ian Shaw
“Best Jazz Vocalist” at the BBC Jazz Awards in 2007 and 2004, and nominated in the Best UK Vocalist category at the JazzFM awards in 2013, Ian Shaw has already amassed a number of highly acclaimed internationally released albums and is a popular performer both in the UK and the US. He has been cited, along with Mark Murphy and Kurt Elling, as one of the world’s finest male jazz vocalists.

Shaw’s current release, his 13th studio album, A Ghost In Every Bar, The Lyrics Of Fran Landesman (Splash Point Records), has been exceptionally well received in Europe and America (see reviews). The recording fulfilled a long-standing promise made to the late poet/lyricist Landesman to make an album devoted to her work. Ian was one of her favourite singers and his past discography includes many of her songs.

In the summer of 2010 Shaw joined an historical legacy of artists and recorded his first Abbey Road studio album. Using a personal blueprint connection in the shape of legendary bassist Peter Ind, Shaw and his young guitarist collaborator, David Preston, assembled a stellar, international, cross-generational band resulting in a recording that led Jamie Cullum to say “the incomparable Ian Shaw… absolutely fantastic” and reflects Shaw’s position as one of the world’s leading jazz singers.

His acclaimed 2006 album Drawn To All Things - The Songs Of Joni Mitchell, saw him “Praised far and wide as the single greatest male jazz vocalist Britain has to offer” by Jazz Times. This was followed in 2008 by the autobiographical collection co-penned with David Preston, Lifejacket, also on Linn Records. In 2009 Shaw recorded his long-awaited solo album, Somewhere Towards Love (Splash Point Records) which continues to represent beautifully his increasingly popular solo shows.

Shaw’s career in performance began unusually for a jazz musician on the Alternative Cabaret Circuit, alongside such performers as Julian Clary, Rory Bremner and Jo Brand. Shaw was spotted by Dave Illic, jazz critic for City Limits and was described as “the voice of the decade”.

During the next few years Shaw moved from the singer-pianist format to working with his new band to an eventual move into jazz. Shaw has toured extensively in the UK - regular venues include the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Blackheath Concert Halls, Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Soho Jazz Club, The Vortex, the Jazz Café and The Barbican. Ian has played at all of the major jazz festivals in the UK including Brecon, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh (where he was nominated for a Perrier Award), Grimsby, Glasgow, Cheltenham, Scarborough, Swanage and St. Ives.

In Europe he has proved popular in France, Germany and Italy with numerous live appearances. He has also performed regularly in the States including Jazz at the Lincoln Center (New York), Cine Grill (Hollywood), the Fairmont (Chicago), The Nest (Washington DC), Fez Club (New York), the Ellington Church (New York), the Pasadena Auditorium (California), the Miami Film and Music Festival and the Arizona Jazz Party. He has also performed at the Hanoi Opera House and Ho Chi Minh City Opera in Vietnam. More recently Ian has become a frequent visitor to Canada, as result of regular play on the 24 hour JazzFM91 radio station where his Ronnie Scott’s Radio Show airs weekly. … Visit: http://www.ianshaw.biz

Booklet for The Theory of Joy