Ian Sherwood

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“Traditional singer/songwriter style at it's essence.”
-Cameron Phillips, host of CBC's 'Freestyle'
“You know that Silk Soy Milk? The chocolate kind? That's what his voice sounds like.”
-Shaun Majumder, Comedian
With the release of his self-titled debut album in September 2005, Ian burst onto the Halifax singer/songwriter scene with humble fury. With nominations for Nova Scotia Music Week Pop/Rock Recording Of The Year, Toronto Independent Music Awards Best Out Of Area Act and being named Featured Album of the Week (Dec. 5th - 9th) by CBC's Radio One's Freestyle, Sherwood is quickly gaining momentum not only in the Maritimes but on a national level as well.
Recording the album at Ferguson Music Production (FMP) studios in Dartmouth, Studio 92 in Toronto and a friend's cottage in The Muskokas, Sherwood's recording style is as unique as his music.
"Starting at FMP in Dartmouth was the right choice to make. We got the bed tracks down in a low stress environment and could then take our time with the rest of the album. We recorded a few piano tracks at Studio 92 and then decided that our best bet was to get a weeks worth of groceries, max-out my credit card at Long and McQuade, and head for the hills. We gave ourselves a week at the cottage to do nothing but cook and record. I'm still amazed that we got it done!"
Konrad Pluta, Scott Ferguson (Rankin Sisters), Jamie Gatti (Barra McNeils) along with Lewis Melville (formerly of the Reostatics) and Emile Deon add their world-class musicianship to the project which features eleven original tracks. It's an eclectic mix of catchy, heart-breaking melodies, intricate guitar playing with a slight throw-back to Sherwood's jazz roots. He fuses contemporary song styles with his Atlantic heritage and the result is intelligent and soulful.
Born and raised in Halifax, Ian emerged in the mainstream circuit with the Charlottetown-based swing band, The Jive Kings, and landed a 2001 East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Award for best jazz group. After studying jazz improvisation and composition in Halifax with saxophonists Chris Mitchell and Don Palmer, Ian moved to Toronto and continued his studies with fellow Maritimer and Juno Award winner, Kirk MacDonald. While in the Big Smoke he cut his teeth on the jazz scene and earned a respectable position among his peers as a composer and saxophonist.
With an impressive career as a session player in Toronto and Halifax and having shared the stage with artists like Natalie McMaster, Measha Brueggergosman and Richard Wood, Ian branched out to the singer/songwriter category and quickly gained recognition as a solid front-man and lyricist.
Drawing inspiration from other songwriters like Bruce Cockburn, Bruce Hornsby and Craig Northey, Ian can't help but acknowledge the influence of jazz greats like John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Pat Metheny, and Bela Fleck on his music.
"I spent years listening to nothing but jazz music, studying standard song form and what-not. I'm sure it has no choice but show up in my music."
Sherwood's music is defined by attitude and sincere passion, not genre.
"I always try to keep in mind what Duke Ellington said, 'There are only two types of music; good and bad.'" ..