NYC jazz vocalist Molly Ryan knows how to swing with the best of ‘em. Hailed as a “critic’s favorite” by author and Wall Street Journal music writer, Will Friedwald, Ryan announces the release of her fifth solo album, Sweepin’ the Blues Away, on Turtle Bay Records. The album features 11 jazz classic songs from the swingin’ ‘30s.
Sweepin’ the Blues Away | Molly Ryan (bandcamp.com)
Molly is not only a fantastic Jazz vocalist but also a CFI & MEI in the NY/NJ area. She is looking to find a school where she can teach while working toward CFII.
Since arriving in 2003 from Roseville, CA, Ryan has established quite a career on the NYC jazz scene. She has performed at prestigious Manhattan venues such as the Café Carlyle, The Rainbow Room, Joe’s Pub, Symphony Space, Birdland Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Iridium Jazz Club, The Player’s Club, the Waldorf Astoria, The Cutting Room, and The Town Hall. She has performed alongside such prominent jazz artists as Randy Reinhart, Jon-Erik Kellso, Bria Skonberg, Dan Barrett, Mark Shane and Rossano Sportiello, as well as with the preeminent 1920s-style orchestra, Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks.
Ryan has appeared at numerous jazz festivals and jazz parties throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the Atlanta Jazz Party, the Central Illinois Jazz Festival, the North Carolina Jazz Festival, the New York Hot Jazz Festival, the Old Jazz Meeting “Zlota Tarka” in Ilawa, Poland and Winter Jazzfest in New York City, among others.
In addition, Molly Ryan’s voice can be heard on the Grammy Award-winning HBO television series Boardwalk Empire (Season One). She also has made appearances on the AMAZON PRIME TV series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season Three) and in Take Me Back to Manhattan, the Emmy-nominated musical revue celebrating New York and the great American songbook.
WSJ music critic Will Friedwald says, “Molly swings the melody – as well as the words – without affectation of any kind. She brings a straight-ahead innocence and total believability to the music…She sounds worldly wise beyond her years, wonderfully gentle and lyrical.” Don’t miss Sweepin’ the Blues Away, the new jazz swing album by Molly Ryan, released on November 11, 2022 on Turtle Bay Records.
More about Molly Ryan
Born and raised in Roseville, CA, Molly Ryan moved to NYC where she has lived for the past 20 years. Having established herself quickly as a highly in-demand jazz vocalist, Ryan has been a featured artist throughout the jazz world. She is a member of Gordon Au’s Grand Street Stompers, and appeared on two of the band’s albums, Christmas Stomp (2012) and Do the New York (2016). She has headlined at Birdland for the club’s Sunday evening showcase, “Jazz Party”, and has performed there with her own groups numerous times, most recently in a critically acclaimed tribute to Mae West. Internationally, Ryan has performed in Paris at jazz clubs such as the famed Le Petit Journal and Autour de Midi, and has been featured as a guest vocalist with Andrej Hermlin’s Swing Dance Orchestra throughout Germany in a monumental tribute to clarinet legend Benny Goodman.
In addition to singing, Ryan is the rhythm guitarist and vocalist with James Langton’s New York All-Star Big Band, which performed to a sold-out audience at Midsummer Night Swing and has performed monthly at The Rainbow Room. Molly is also the rhythm guitarist in the all-female big band Sisterhood of Swing, led by Bria Skonberg, and she performs periodically with the gypsy jazz group Fête Manouche.
Molly Ryan is also President and co-founder of the New York Hot Jazz Camp (est. 2015), for adults, and co-producer of the Gotham Jazz Festival in New York City.
As a member of the Flying Musicians Association, Molly has introduced several pilot/musicians in the NY area to FMA. “I’m good friends and sometimes fly with, as well as perform with, a few other members (all of whom I had told about Flying Musicians Association, lol). Vinny Raniolo, Todd Londagin, and Aaron Diehl. I haven’t flown with Vinny in a few years, but we’ve been performing together for over a decade. Todd flies in a club at KPOU and I’ve been up with him several times in their C172. Aaron rents a cirrus out of White Plains and he’s difficult to pin down, but a very skilled pilot.”
Molly has also been a flight attendant at United Airlines since 2007. She is working towards getting into their Aviate program at the “hour building” stage.
Molly’s father is a CFI and owns a Luscombe 8A out in Lincoln, CA. He’s trying to sell the experimental 1916 Jenny he built (pictured with Molly). “It hasn’t yet flown, but someone with time on their hands could finish the project.”
(Obtain Sweepin’ the Blues Away at Bandcamp or on most streaming services)
Sweepin’ the Blues Away | Molly Ryan (bandcamp.com)
Track Listing: Get Yourself a New Broom (and Sweep the Blues Away) The Folks Who Live On the Hill I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket You and I A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square I’ll Sit Right On The Moon I Wonder Who’s Kissing Him Now You Turned the Tables On Me A Cottage For Sale Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella (On a Rainy Day) If You Want the Rainbow (You Must Have the Rain)
Critiques Corner:
The album was featured today on AllAboutJazz.com (includes song clips, links and a video by Matt Farrell, with footage from within the recording studio during the making of the album). Also below is a new review from Americana Highways, written by John Apice.
“Whether you’re feeling blue or not, the new jazz swing album by Molly Ryan Sweepin’ the Blues Away, guarantees to lift your spirits!”
“What Molly achieves on these cuts is what a singing teacher can’t teach. Style with class, aplomb, sassiness, personality, atmosphere, & groove & translating it effectively through glossy red lips with a sparkling smile….a young chanteuse that sings effortlessly….. in a genre decades from her own generation.”
