Search - Jimmy Ryan :: Lost Diamond Angel

It?s harvest time for Jimmy Ryan. Planted twenty years ago in the fertile soil of the Boston roots scene and watered with the rich, muddy water of bluegrass, punk and Americana, Jimmy Ryan?s first solo record ?Lost Diamond Angel? is a rich harvest indeed. At the root of the record is Jimmy?s mandolin. His propulsive playing has graced records by everyone from Morphine to Warren Zevon to Catie Curtis to Melissa Ferrick. Here, on his own record, it insinuates rather than dominates, creating an entirely new setting for a mandolin playing frontman. While his mandolin influences range from Bill Monroe to Jethro Burns, this is no retro roots record. This is mandolin playing for a new generation. It was Ry Cooder?s mandolin part on the Rolling Stone?s ?Love In Vain? that first piqued Jimmy?s interest in the mandolin. Bringing to it his love of Bob Marley, Thelonious Monk and the Clash sealed his distinctive style. In 1987 he formed The Blood Oranges, a seminal Boston roots band that, over the course of three records, played with The Tom Tom Club, Los Lobos, and Kathy Mattea, were praised by Rolling Stone magazine, and built up a huge following on the roots/Americana scene. Jimmy also formed, with John McGann, The Beacon Hillbillies, mixing jazz and bluegrass and releasing three CD?s. Since 1996 Jimmy has played with Catie Curtis while writing and gathering material for ?Lost Diamond Angel?. It?s on ?Lost Diamond Angel? that all the pieces fall into place. Enlisting a stellar cast of supporting players including Billy Conway (Morphine), Andrew Mazzone (Catie Curtis), Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter), Dana Colley (Morphine), and Catie Curtis, Jimmy lets his influences and experiences inform and color 13 songs of startling depth and originality.