Ian Shaw: vocals
Alessandro Di Liberto: piano
Tommaso Scannapieco: double bass
Enzo Zirilli: drums and percussion
Ian Shaw has been cited, alongside Mark Murphy and Kurt Elling, as one of the world’s greatest male jazz singers. Best Jazz Vocalist at the BBC Jazz Awards in 2007 and 2004 and nominated for Best UK Vocalist at the JazzFM Awards in 2013, Ian has already amassed a string of internationally acclaimed albums and is a popular performer in both the UK and the US. Shaw’s live career began in an unusual way for a jazz musician: on the alternative cabaret circuit, alongside artists such as Julian Clary, Rory Bremner and Jo Brand. There Shaw came to the attention of City Limits jazz critic Dave Illic, who hailed him as the voice of the decade. Over the next few years Shaw moved away from the typical cabaret singer-pianist format to work with his new band, aiming to work in the jazz field. In the summer of 2010 Shaw joined a legendary line-up and recorded his first album at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Thanks to his friendship with legendary bassist Peter Ind, Shaw and his young guitarist David Preston assembled a stellar, cross-generational, international band for the occasion, the recording of which led Jamie Cullum to exclaim ‘…the incomparable Ian Shaw… absolutely fantastic!’ reflecting 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 celebrated far and wide as ‘…the greatest male jazz singer Britain has to offer’, as the Jazz Times put it. It was followed in 2008 by the release of an autobiographical collection co-written with David Preston, "Lifejacket", which cemented his reputation as a songwriter as well as a performer. In 2009 Shaw recorded his (long-awaited) first solo album, "Somewhere Towards Love", which continues to beautifully represent his increasingly popular solo shows. His 13th album, "A Ghost In Every Bar", has been met with extraordinary acclaim throughout Europe and America. He tours extensively throughout the UK - regular venues include the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Blackheath Concert Halls, Ronnie Scott's, Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho, The Vortex, the Jazz Café and The Barbican. Ian has played at all the major UK jazz festivals including Brecon, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh (where he was nominated for a Perrier award), Grimsby, Glasgow, Cheltenham, Scarborough, Swanage and St Ives. In Europe he quickly became popular in France, Germany and also in Italy, with numerous live appearances. He has also performed regularly at many historic jazz venues in the United States including Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York), Cine Griglia (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 the Ho Chi Minh City Opera in Vietnam. More recently, Ian has become a regular visitor to Canada, as a result of his presence on JazzFM91 radio station where the Ronnie Scott Radio Show airs weekly (worldwide), of which Ian is the official announcer. His TV appearances include Jools Holland, Top of the Pops, The Jack Dee Show, Christmas Night with the Stars (BBC), Channel 4's The Happening, TVAM, BBC Breakfast Show, A Night of Love and BBC 2's Jazz at the 606, as well as numerous appearances on specialty channels. Shaw has also recently appeared on BBC 2's prestigious live slot "The Review Show" and Channel 4 filmed him with Liane Carroll for their Random Acts series. He has collaborated with a host of prestigious artists including Quincy Jones, Abdullah Ibrahim, Guy Barker, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Iain Ballamy, Mornington Lockett, Barb Jungr, Cleo Laine, John Dankworth, Cedar Walton, Joe Lovano and Joe Beck. Shaw's duet with Claire Martin, who was named the UK's best female jazz vocalist, is a popular one in the UK. Together they have toured the world, both in a very stripped-down set with Shaw on piano and vocals, and with the BBC Big Band. Recent European tour dates have seen Shaw perform solo and with his trio at venues and festivals throughout Italy, Ireland, Germany, as well as Belarus. Shaw’s return to the singer-trio formula sees Ian team up with young pianist Barry Verde, legendary bassist Mick Hutton and drummer David Ohm. After their appearance at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in 2014, Ian and his trio reappeared at Hamburg’s Elbjazz in 2015 to present a new album. In the summer of 2015 Ian signed to Harmonia Mundi's Jazz Village label and recorded the album "The Theory Of Joy", released in February 2017.
After the acclaimed concerts at the FolkClub in 2014, 2017 and February 2020, just before the general ‘Lock Down’, this fabulous English singer, pianist and songwriter returns to RadioLondra, leading an All Stars Band including Alessandro Di Liberto on piano, Tommaso Scannapieco on bass (already with Mario Biondi for many years) and Enzo Zirilli on drums.
The concert is a real 360° journey through Broadway songs, those from the Pop songbook or written by Shaw himself.
A concert absolutely not to be missed!
"Simply the best we have... a real delight!" (The Independent)
"He has few rivals" (Sunday Times)
"…contest or no contest, Shaw's singing skills are top of the list" (Los Angeles Times)
"...he's in danger of being declared a national treasure" (Mike Flynn, Jazzwise)
"Shaw's ability to strip away the superfluous, cut to the emotional core of a song and build inexorably, without melodrama or self-aggrandizement, towards the moment when a text gives itself to us, remains astonishing." (Andy Robson, Jazzwise)
"…one of the finest singers in contemporary music" (All About Jazz - US)
