Liam Ryan
is a keyboard player and occasional singer. Back in the 1980s he was part of The Narcs; a decade or so later he had a band called Torch Songs, which played many a jazz festival and suchlike events.

He also plays with Midge Marsden and is a keyboard player Rodger Fox calls to back overseas artists. And more, much more of course – Liam is 70 now, and has been at it for half-a-century, so he’s done stuff...

Woven Not Stranded is largely a collection of melodic instrumental grooves with fantastic soloing and the occasional vocal. It covers expansive musical territory, and from a technical perspective sounds nothing less than sensational: crisp, wide, warm, beautifully balanced and three-dimensional in its soundscapes.

Things start in relatively unassuming fashion with Cosmic Lounge, an easy-listening sax-led piece, after which a Spanish guitar kicks into Afrodisiac and we’re definitely in world music territory, with backwards sounds and rhythmic flamenco flourishes. There’s a driving melodic orchestral string pattern along with vocal chanting and it’s very groovy indeed. There’s a high level of attention to detail here: everything fits and flows and every space seems proportionate and considered.