I was at Kings Place at King’s Cross last week for the launch of another album that might be on your Christmas gift list, Stephensong by Ian Shaw (Silent Wish Records), with Barry Green on piano, which as the title suggests is an album of tunes penned by maestro Stephen Sondheim.
Now, I confess I am not a fan of musical theatre, but that isn’t the point – Shaw just loves wry, witty, moving and well-written tunes and they are here in abundance. “It’s tough, disciplined writing – but that’s what makes it brilliant,” says Shaw. “These songs are about real people and tell the truths we all recognise.”
The show itself was a tour-de-force triumph – Shaw again demonstrating how he can wring every nuance out of a lyric and navigate tricky changes in tempo and key with aplomb. He dug deep into his bag of vocal tricks on Children Will Listen and tugged heartstrings on No One Is Alone.
Barry Green gave elegant, sympathetic support and also delivered an emphatic and moving version of Send in the Clowns. There was clever use of back projection too, adding some visual cues to the songs.
The record might not quite capture the full Shaw live experience – what can? – but is a powerful testimony to the skill of the singer and the songwriter nevertheless. As Jazzwise magazine put it: “An exquisite duo take on the music…with Shaw poignant and powerful in equal measure.”
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