(vocal jazz) [CD] Ian Shaw - Drawn To All Things (The Songs Of Joni Mitchell) - 2006, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Ian Shaw (born 2 June 1962) is a Welsh jazz singer, record producer, and stand up comedian.
Shaw was born in St. Asaph, Wales, and took his music degree at the University of London. His career in performance began in the 1980s on the Alternative Cabaret Circuit, alongside such performers as Julian Clary, Rory Bremner and Jo Brand. At the same time, he was playing in piano bars and at festivals in London and throughout Europe.
In 1990 he toured Europe and recorded with fellow singer Carol Grimes. Since this time, Shaw has regularly worked in duo settings with other singers, including Claire Martin, Linda Lewis, Liane Carroll, and Sarah Jane Morris. By the mid-1990s, he was regularly performing at the Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and in 1995 released two albums on the club's Jazzhouse label - Ghosthouse and a tribute to Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart Taking It To Hart. In 1996, Shaw led his own 'Very Big Band' on a UK tour, and by the late 90s he was performing regularly in USA. In 1999 he released In A New York Minute the first of two albums on New York's Milestone label. This and Soho Stories, released in 2001, featured many US musicians including Cedar Walton, Lew Soloff, and Eric Alexander. A World Still Turning from 2003 saw him working with Billy Childs and Peter Washington, and guest vocalist Mark Murphy.
Shaw has continued to work regularly with singer Claire Martin, co-hosting the 2004 BBC Jazz Awards with her and appearing with her on the BBC Radio 2 show Big Band Special, a show that he has also presented. Shaw also presented a jazz show on BBC South with Charlie Crocker. He won in the Best Jazz Vocalist category at the BBC Jazz Awards in 2004 and 2007.
A 2006 album on Linn Records saw Shaw paying tribute to songwriter Joni Mitchell. Drawn To All Things was followed in 2008 by an autobiographical album Lifejacket, which showcased his songwriting for the first time. Somewhere Towards Love from 2009 was an intimate album of voice and piano release by Splashpoint Records. The title song, written again by Shaw, was chosen by Molly Parkin as one of her Desert Island Discs. In 2011, Splashpoint released The Abbey Road Sessions where Shaw is again joined by a band, this time including legendary jazz bass player, Peter Ind. Shaw has continued to perform regularly at festivals and jazz clubs in the UK including regular shows at the Vortex Jazz Club, Ronnie Scott's, 606 Club and the PizzaExpress Jazz Club. International appearances have included Canada, USA, Dubai, Belarus, France, Italy and Germany.
As an actor, Shaw performed in Jerry Springer: The Opera in the role of warm-up man/devil, which was created for him by Richard Thomas. In 2005, Shaw appeared as Percy in the film Pierrepoint. Shaw returned to comedy in 2011, touring widely with Rory Bremner. He has also begun performing a new one man show 'A Bit of a Mouthful', which is scheduled for a full run at the Edinburgh Festival in August 2012.
In July 2013, appeared as guest artist with Jazz singer Clare Teal and the BBC Radio Leeds Community Big Band at the Royal Hall, Harrogate with AJ Brown and Sir Tim Rice.

Ian Shaw's debut album on Linn Records is a stunning collection of re-workings of classic and lesser-known songs by his personal heroine Joni Mitchell.
Drawn To All Things includes three songs which had not previously been recorded by anyone other than Joni; 'Talk to Me', 'Love Or Money' and 'Stay In Touch'. Top jazz vocalists and musicians lend their support; Claire Martin and Lea de Laria on vocals, plus trumpeter Guy Barker and guitarist Jim Mullen.
‘For years now, Ian Shaw has been topping Britain's Best Jazz Singer polls.’ Mojo
‘If you want an album that's about touching souls, then look no further.’ Jazzwise
‘Mitchell would surely be intrigued.’ The Sunday Times
'One of the contemporary scene's class acts on vocals.’ The Guardian
Booklet note
sarah vaughan, t-rex, supertramp, miles davis, sinatra and david bowie. my teenage record collection was a roll-call of every musical sensation needed to pave the way for my own precocious foray into making music.
i was fascinated by the sounds and the story worlds of “bewitched”, “willow weep for me” and “life on mars”. miniatures, myths, frozen little moods pressed onto pungent glossy discs. mysterious yet familiar, orchestrations forged on distant shores, ever evolving yet never changing. iconic artwork, cherished gatefold sleeves, lyric sheets, stickers, 45 and 33rpm, a-sides, b-sides, ep’s, lp’s, best of’s, free posters, calendars. each album had its own smell, its own texture. the design of each cover reflected the music inside.
i found a record called “blue” by joni mitchell in my little town library on the way home from school on the last day of my sixth-form autumn term. i was sixteen. you could take out three records at a time. i don’t remember the other two.
walking home through the filthy melting snow, i checked the cover. david bowie’s sister. sharp cheekbones bathed in grainy dark blue shadows. a still from a gig perhaps. the lyrics were printed over a gatefold centre: “the bed’s too big, the frying pan’s too wide”, “i made my baby cry”, “a foggy lullaby”, “dark cafes”, “needles, guns and grass”. rock and roll words mixed into images so specific, so confessional, so domestic as to be straight from a diary kept in a drawer… somewhere in america. i couldn’t imagine how joni mitchell would sound and, to this day, i still don’t fully understand the unfathomable beauty of her recordings. i felt i was, at sixteen, an honorary member of a secret club. i quickly found her other records.
the immaculate marriage of words and music in joni’s work has always fascinated and puzzled me. the constant, aching search for happiness combined with the concerns we all have for the demise of everything we treasure. on “miles of aisles“, her first live set, joni describes a song as “a portrait of disappointment”. thousands of great american songs before her have touched on personal disappointments, usually related to love. joni would later record an entire album charting the course of a love affair
the songs i’ve chosen for this session are, without doubt, beautifully composed popular song forms. the imagery is personal yet universal, and i hope that by re-arranging and scoring them for what is essentially an enduring jazz format - piano, bass and drums – i haven’t taken away from their original compositional greatness. i sensed that joni’s more diary-based works like “hejira”, and her heartfelt, magical collusion with the legendary charlie mingus on “mingus” wouldn’t suit re-invention of any kind.
occasionally joni mitchell writes what seems to be the perfect song for every singer. “stay in touch” (from “taming the tiger”) is one. “river” (“blue”) is another. i’ve recorded both. they shake my bones when i sing them.
the emotions themselves - audibly in the music like creatures trapped in amber (jim irwin)
to work with the extraordinary ears of the producer richard cottle, a crew of young joni-loving jazz players was assembled. tim lapthorn, one of the most emotional piano players in europe, whose album “natural language” is a thing of great beauty. simon little, a young bass player (divine comedy, clare teal) whose enthusiasm for joni matches my own. mark fletcher, a hugely creative drummer who has played with james moody, mark murphy, ronnie scott, in cahoots, and has been in my trio for sixteen years. our invited guests on the album are david preston, a passionate young guitarist still at college, percussionist miles bould, saxophonist nigel hitchcock and the legendary jim mullen (“both sides now” and “night ride home”). ”). the award-winning guy barker makes a special guest appearance on “harlem in havana”, “talk to me” and “moon at the window”.
claire martin and i have been performing together for over ten years. she recorded “be cool” on her debut album “the waiting game” in 1991 and sings “night ride home” with me here. for “harlem in havana”, i couldn’t think of a better scat singer than lea de laria.
the arrangements on this record are my own, with the exception of “jericho”, “love or money” and “harlem in havana” which were crafted by one of our most inventive composers, janette mason. she plays piano on these three tracks.
this album is dedicated to the memory of my father, vic bagshaw (1934-2004), whose music never leaves me.
- Ian Shaw

Musicians:
vocals, piano and electric piano - Ian Shaw
piano - Janette Mason (tracks 1, 2, 5 & 9)
piano - Tim Lapthorn (tracks 3, 4, 8, 10 & 13)
bass - Simon Little
drums - Mark Fletcher
percussion - Miles Bould
keyboards - Richard Cottle
trumpet - Guy Barker
tenor sax - Nigel Hitchcock
guitar - David Preston (tracks 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 & 10)
guitar - Jim Mullen (tracks 12 & 13)
guest vocal - Lea De Laria (track 5)
guest vocal - Claire Martin (track 12)
with The Tapestry Strings