“Colin is the ultimate all-rounder. Great guy, great player. He can rock, he can roll, play the blues, the golds… any shade or grade I want or need he seems to effortlessly deliver. He can strum, shine, hold back or jump in. He is well-versed, well-read, has excellent time, and a tremendous musical knowledge and sensibility that informs his stellar playing” – Julia Fordham
Moon River – Julia Fordham with Colin Ryan
Hello and welcome to my website
My name is Colin and I play guitar. I’ve been doing it for a number of years and it’s taken me pretty much around the world. I’ve performed in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Hammersmith Apollo (or whatever it’s called now), Wembley Arena, done loads of live (and pre-recorded) TV, contributed to TV and movie soundtracks, played on hit records, entertained royal families of several countries, and generally done a million gigs. Slight exaggeration about the gigs, but not much.
Artists I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with include Julia Fordham, Louise Goffin, Jane Siberry, Doña Oxford, Mari Wilson, Sean Wiggins and Lenny Goldsmith (former singer and keyboard player with Tower of Power). I live in Los Angeles now, but I’m from London, England, and the musicians I’ve worked with there are among the best found anywhere – people who have played and/or sung for Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Jeff Beck, George Michael, and many others.
Stylistically, I cover a lot of ground from sensitive singer-songwriter stuff to bossa nova to jazz to deep funk to loud rock to slide-guitar Americana to boogie-woogie to blues to soul to pop to country twang to ambient mucking around. It’s all music, right? And I’ve done duos to 16-piece setups. Oh, and an orchestra.
We could talk about gear, but no one will really care beyond whether it sounds any good. I have electric guitars of both Fender and Gibson persuasions, acoustics with steel strings and acoustics with nylon strings, a soprano electric (one octave higher than a regular guitar), a bass, ukulele, and amps that work in small and large situations. Plus a bunch of pedals – it’s a guitarist thing.
MeTube
Here are some videos of me at work with some great artists.
Julia Fordham is one of the great singers and songwriters. There is a video of us playing her song “Love” at the Roxy in Los Angeles and also a great tune sung by Jamie Hartman (who also wrote it) duetting with Julia Fordham. It gets pretty intense. Please stick around for the guitar solo on the outro.
There’s a clip from playing with the Muse-ique orchestra, accompanying the fabulous and multiple Grammy-nominated Nnenna Freelon.
Doña Oxford is a force of musical nature. She’s studied with Johnny Johnson, Chuck Berry’s pianist, and played for Albert Lee (amazing guitarist). She really comes into her own as a front person, playing ridiculous piano and writing superb songs.
Jane Siberry walks her own artistic path. It was a wonderful experience to share a few steps with her.
And then there is just a little pre-gig warming up, but the bass player is none other than the legendary Leland Sklar, who has played with absolutely everyone. What a thrill to share a stage with him. The drummer, Shay Godwin, is fantastic too.
Gallery
Click on an image to enlarge
Press
Doña Oxford Review – Brennan’s, Marina del Rey, California by Patrick O’Heffernan
Doña Oxford makes people move. Fresh back from playing onstage with Albert Lee in London and in the studio backing a new album with Van Morrison, Doña Oxford brought her high octane R&B and boogie-woogie soul train to Brennan’s in Marina del Rey to celebrate her birthday (39, of course). And Brennan’s may never recover.
At one point, even the sports fans at the bar gave up following ESPN and joined in the locomotion. There were dancing folks bopping in the tiny space in front of the restroom doors. It was a hoot.
Doña brought the full band for her birthday present to the audience: the amazing British transplant Colin Ryan on electric guitar, Bill Brennenstuhl keeping it moving on the drums, Fred Johnson playing bass and adding a few hallelujahs, and the never-stop-dancing backup singers Robin Daléa and Jamila Ford.
Doña conducted them flawlessly from her center spot in front of the big Hammond keyboard, flashing hand signals while her fingers kept up the blur on the keys. A joy to watch and listen to.
She opened with Dusty Springfield’s Won’t be Long, moved on to the Hall & Oates cover I Can’t Go For That, and then treated us to staples from her albums like Together, He’s My Baby, Shame on Me, and Tell It Like It Is. As her fans expected, she wrapped up the first set with her famous 10-minute Boogie Woogie song, complete with one-handed playing and elevating the keyboard on the finale.
Every song was delivered with Doña’s trademark 120-percent and the rest of the band was at the top of its game, especially Ryan, whose solo guitar riffs could have been a concert on their own.
Not content to stay in her boogie-woogie comfort zone, Doña surprised us with Pharrell Williams’s Happy, Wilson Pickett’s Something You Got and – wait for it – Britney Spears’ Hit Me Baby One More Time. The crowd loved it.
Doña Oxford is one of LA’s under-appreciated assets. Every show she performs is a blowout with the audience standing and whistling and demanding more. Her albums, Soul Quest and Doña Oxford deliver the goods and then some. When she tours the UK, stars like Van Morrison ask her to be part of their recording sessions. She brings the level of talent and energy to the stage you find in a Trombone Shorty or, in their day, The Isley Brothers. If she keeps up the songwriting, the recording and especially the live concerts, she could be one of the next LA breakout bands.
Doña Oxford concert review by Richard Brody of Nippertown.com
The lightning and thunder that hit the Music Haven on Sunday night came not from bad weather but from Doña Oxford and her band, who blazed through two soul-stirring sets. Ms. Oxford is known for her high-energy performances that show off her dazzling keyboard playing and soulful vocals. This being a homecoming show for Oxford, who grew up in Nippertown (Schenectady), she held nothing back.
We got close to two hours of hip-shaking, arm-waving, getting-down dance music. One of the highlights of the first set was Doña’s rendition of Step Up. Written by Ms. Oxford and Barry Goldberg, it’s about each of us stepping up and communicating respect and understanding for each other so that we might bring our world back into balance. The performance featured powerful singing by Doña with assistance from her back-up singers, Robin Dalea and Amanda Homi, and playing that was highlighted by one of Colin Ryan’s many liquid guitar solos.
While there were certainly elements of boogie-woogie all night, Ms. Oxford’s show-stopping piano piece that closed out the first set had the crowd screaming for more. You could hear the influence of her mentor, Johnnie Johnson (Chuck Berry’s piano man for many years) and certainly Jerry Lee Lewis as her right hand (the woogie hand, she told us) flew across the keys in a blur.
Links
Julia Fordham is an amazing writer and singer. The London Daily Telegraph agrees: “A stylish pop balladeer with a voice that glides easily between the languor of Sade and the smooth high notes of Philadelphia soul.”
Doña Oxford is a force of nature. More than a pianist, singer and writer, but truly great at all three.
Sean Wiggins covers a lot of ground as a writer, singer and performer. And the area that’s a bit soulful and a bit country-ish, kinda Bonnie Raitt/Shelby Lynne-ish, is a particularly sweet spot.
Lenny Goldsmith is the man behind The New Old and also the man who fronts it. Lenny used to be in Tower of Power. We play, have fun and there are some amazing musicians in the band.
Rachel Gray has taken several of the shots on this site. She’s an excellent photographer, a wonderful person and has made a short film called The Ravine.
Medicine for Humanity works to help African women recover from devastating injuries caused by childbirth.