Review: The Abbey Road Sessions

Sunday Business Post

Cormac Larkin, June 2011

****

One of the most highly regarded British jazz singers of his generation, Ian Shaw combines the range and technical agility expected of a jazz singer with the vulnerability and emotional depth needed to sing songs that resonate with grown-ups.

For his latest album, he has assembled an eclectic group of musicians – including legendary bassist Peter Ind, American drummer Gene Caldarazzo and Dublin-based pianist Phil Ware – and brought them into Abbey Road's famous live room with a set list that strikes an excellent balance between old and new.

Solid gold standards like Skylark and Darn that Dream are given a contemporary treatment, while Shaw's arrangements of pop songs like Human Nature and Stuck in the Middle with You deftly transform them into vehicles for his mobile vocals.

The result is a very approachable collection of tunes, given a very hip spin by a proper jazz singer.