When a top class musical act comes to a small town like Ludlow, it’s worth making the most of it, and I went to see Paul Ryan and Kenny Clayton twice this weekend when they appeared at the Ego Bar on Saturday night and the Charlton Arms over lunch on Sunday.

Paul Ryan is the best British singer of the great American Songbook of the 30s, 40s & 50s that I’ve ever heard. His timing, the tuning and timbre of his voice (honed by a steady intake of unfiltered Senior Service) would stand comparison with any of the great crooners (Frank, Bing, Dino or Bennett). But he’s not just a Sinatra tribute act. Performing in a double-breasted suit, ex-Chicago c.1932, with dark hair swept back and a scarlet silk brow-mopper, Paul has the air of a musical ‘Don’. With features perhaps best described as ‘well caroused-in’, he brings a cartload of personal baggage and life experience to his delivery of some of the great songs of the last century, with his own distinctive interpretation of the clever, sophisticated lyrics of Jerome Kern, Ira Gershwin or Lorenz Hart which no X-Factor teenage wannabe could dream of achieving.

But Paul’s performance couldn’t be what it is without Kenny Clatyon’s sublime piano-playing. Kenny who grew up as a classical pianist, studying at the Trinity Music School, was ready to be let loose on the concert platform when he fell in love with the great mainstream jazz of the 50s. He went on to play at Peter Cook’s famous Establishment Club (with my old friend Stanley Myers) and with a string of well-known artists – Shirley Bassey, Charles Aznavour, Sacha Distel, Matt Monro and Petula Clark (with whom he still embarks on international tours). He’s worked all over the world, in Las Vegas, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, Paris, and, next month, in the Philippines.

Kenny doesn’t just accompany Paul, they work together as an integral act, playing off one another’s wit and affection for the music. Their treatment of the Lorenz Hart classic Blue Moon is quite unique, with Kenny’s brilliant arrangement combining the melody with Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune. The duo’s delivery of Hoagy Carmichael’s The Nearness of You is truly magical, when Paul’s voice and Kenny’s piano add a wonderful subtlety and tenderness.

Paul Ryan and Kenny Clayton appear regularly at the Coach & Horses, in Soho, London, but, lucky for us, they’ll be back in Ludlow again at the end of the month, on 23rd August at Ego Wine Bar at 8.00 pm, and at the Charlton Arms on Sunday 24th at 12.30 pm.         www.claytonandryanmusic.com

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