Born in New York in 1957, Ryan was first introduced to traditional American bluegrass and folk as a child through the State University in his hometown of Binghamton, where a local country and blues organization sponsored shows highlighting the nation's musical roots. After spending his formative years attending bluegrass festivals, he began honing his own skills as a performer by playing with fiddlers and pickers of all ages and musical backgrounds.
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'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 thirteen songs of startling depth and originality.
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