Tracks 1. The Rush 2. Portobello Road 3. Jackie Dragons 4. The Journey 5. So To Speak 6. The Subterraneans 7. Currumbin Sun 8. Zing Zing Zing 9. Kid Shuffle 10. Them's The       Brakes
featuring: James Ryan - Tenor Saxophone James Muller - Guitar Steve Hunter - Electric Bass James Hauptmann - Drums
Available now for AU$25 plus postage

Originating from Darwin, Australia, James Ryan has performed extensively throughout Australia and Europe, basing himself in London for four years. In 1995 James graduated from the Canberra School of Music A.N.U. with a Masters of Music majoring in Jazz, the first granted by an Australian University. In 2009 James Ryan toured India with Scott Tinkler, Ken Edie and Steve Hunter to audiences of 1500. 

James Ryan formed The Subterraneans in 2008. Over forty performances later, including residencies at the Empireand Town Hall Hotels and interstate festivals here is the much awaited studio recording.

The Subterraneans is his fourth release, following Bittersweet (ABC Classics, 2009), Long Way Home (Jazzgroove Records, 2006) and James Ryan Quartet (Independent, 1997).

The initial concept of blending jazz and rock some 42 years ago was inspired but the fusion was soon hijacked by the come-upstairs-and-see-my-technique brigade and bombast came to replace groove and imagination. James Ryan's Subterraneans - the name of both the band and album - actually fulfils the concept's original promise, with sophisticated improvising and lithe melodies harnessed to raw power and savage riffs. The band is one of Sydney's strongest live acts and this brilliant studio debut catches all that excitement and delivers it with a mighty sonic punch. Ryan's tenor saxophone is burly, coarse-grained and bullying (in the instrument's best tradition), with a sweeter temper periodically glimpsed through the pugnacity. He needs all those qualities to share his music's foreground with James Muller, one of the finest electric guitarists alive. Unleashing his most stunning recorded work to date, Muller's every solo is an explosion of ideas, realised with the sinuousness of jazz and the muscle of hard rock. The rhythm section echoes those qualities. Bassist Steve Hunter is all suppleness as he rounds the music's edges and adds delicious little counterpoints. Drummer James Hauptmann ensures the grooves crunch with enough power to satisfy a strident rock audience, without forsaking a more pliable sense of groove.