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| 'This Is Ryan Shaw' When Ryan Shaw was recording his debut album 'This Is Ryan Shaw' (April 17, One Haven/RED), he set out to make "music that lifts the people up," a goal borrowed from James Brown. He consciously focuses more on love than on sex, which he feels receives undue attention in music today. "I wanted to make music that meant something," he says. For Ryan, this is a natural progression. He first sang at his Pentecostal Church in Decatur, GA at the age of three, taking his first solo at five. By eleven, he was directing the youth choir. His soul singing explodes with gospel feeling while keeping the focus firmly on secular love, making 'This Is Ryan Shaw' an early nomination for romantic record of 2007. (Shaw describes the transition as "a lateral shift.") And his reputation as a dynamic live performer is confirmed by his four victories on Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre after his move to NYC. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |