Press Quotes

"Shaw brings the quirks and character tics of everyday living into poignant, ironic and often euphoric focus… smart and soulful"

John Fordham, The Guardian

December 2021


"Shaw's vocals, sliding between tenderness and emotional urgency"

Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman

April 2020


"the real deal"

Lance Liddell, Bebop Spoken Here

April 2020


"Shaw's ability to match outstanding technical execution with genuine deep emotion"

Eddie Mayer, Jazz Views.Net

April 2020


Shine Sister Shine: "a great triumph"

Jazz Journal

March 2018


The Theory Of Joy: "Shaw is in his most suitable element here… You don’t have to bend an ear very far to detect its character and class."

John Fordham, The Guardian


"There's actually more heart in Ian Shaw's cleverness than in many singers who wear their hearts conspicuously on their sleeves."

Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph


"Shaw's ability to sear away the extraneous, cut to the emotional heart of a song and build inexorably without melodrama or self-aggrandisement toward the moment a lyric gives itself up to us remains astonishing."

Andy Robson, Jazzwise


"The quality of the singing, the authenticity of the performance, and the intelligent choice of material keep the Welshman safely on the side of the angels."

Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times


"Shaw is the perfect interpreter of these songs... [he] is simply a singer who reaches into the heart of the listener in the most direct way."

Guido Diesing, Jazzthetik


"The Welsh vocalist remains the gentlest of troubadours and most nakedly magical of storytellers... [A Ghost In Every Bar] is a marvelous journey through one of the superlative, if vastly underappreciated, songbooks of the past century."

Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times


"[Fran Landesman] would surely have loved this tribute... a wistful, often droll after-hours stroll."

Clive Davis, The Times


"a masterly vocalist... one of the finest singers in contemporary music interprets some of the greatest songs of the last 50 years."

Bruce Lindsay, All About Jazz


"Praised far and wide as the greatest male jazz singer Britain has to offer."

Jazz Times (US)


"One of the finest singers in contemporary music."

All About Jazz (US)


"One of the UK's most honest and musical jazz vocalists."

The Guardian


"The gifted, technically awesome and theatrically witty singer whose improvisational skill and gambler's instinct to work on everything."

The Guardian


"A profoundly sophisticated artist with a broad grasp of music's mechanics, as well as an affecting, emotional and sometimes very funny singer – never has trouble with the hardliners."

The Guardian


"If Lifejacket doesn't end up at or very near the top of this year's jazz vocal roster, I'll eat my iPod."

Jazz Times, USA


"A convincing album of originals... a reminder of what an important talent he is." ★★★★

Observer Music Monthly


"This is a gem of a recording, and hopefully not a one-off peek at Shaw the singer-songwriter. More, please."

Jazzwise