NEW SESSION The Bean Tones·Vocal Quartet Out now on YouTube Watch Now

A live Jazz show filmed in Los Angeles. World-class musicians, full performances, and real conversations. Captured live in one room, the way records used to be made.

THE SHOW

Real music
in the room.

In the 1960s, "Jazz Casual" put Coltrane, Monk, and Brubeck on film. Performances and conversations that became, in many cases, the only footage we have of them. Sessions With Shaw aims to do similar for this generation.

01

Recorded live.
No overdubs.

Every note is captured live in the studio as it happened. No studio magic after the fact. What you hear is what was played.

02

Conversations.

Between songs, Ryan sits down with each guest: where they come from, who they learned from, and the stories behind a life in music.

LATEST FULL SESSION

Michael Stephenson

SAXOPHONE & VOCALS

Michael Stephenson sings and plays the saxophone, switching between the two mid-tune. The Philadelphia raised, New York based musician came up through the Clef Club and has shared stages with Rihanna and Ricky Martin.

Watch the full session

ALSO IN THE ARCHIVE James Morrison  ·  Joel Frahm  ·  Benny Benack III

Latest session, press play to watch

THE ARCHIVE

The Sessions

Every episode features a live set with the house band and a conversation with the guest. Click a session to meet the musician.

EVERY SESSION

The House Band

Behind every guest is a working band of LA's finest Jazz musicians.

GUESTS ON PIANO

WHY WE DO THIS

A show in the old tradition.

Sessions With Shaw is hosted and produced by Ryan Shaw, a touring drummer who wants the music he loves documented properly. Ryan is the host, the drummer in the back, and the one leading the interviews. But the guests are the stars.

The format goes back sixty years, to the "Jazz Casual" interviews and the variety-show warmth of "The Rosemary Clooney Show", with a house band that swings. The core mission is preservation: building honest, filmed records of this generation's Jazz musicians.

Ryan Shaw smiling at the drums
RYAN SHAW · DRUMS & HOST ryanshawdrums.com

Keep the sessions coming.

The best ways to support cost nothing: subscribe on YouTube, join the mailing list, and watch the sessions. Every subscriber makes the next guest easier to book, film, and share.

FROM THE SAME OBSESSION

The Sinatra Sessions · every musician on every Frank Sinatra record, catalogued and searchable. 2,185 players, 620 sessions, one archive.

Open the archive