ABOUT
Christchurch born, Liam Ryan, musician and arts educator, made his name as keyboardist and songwriter with Kiwi band The Narcs in the 1980s - (You Took Me) Heart and Soul, Diamonds On China). He has featured as a session player on many New Zealand recordings and has toured as a sideman with international artists including Charlie Musselwhite, Long John Baldry and Robben Ford and is a long-standing collaborator with many international musicians working remotely from his Anam Cara studio in Waihi.
Liam has released 3 solo albums on his IMNZ label: Torch Music: Mississippi To Mauao (2007), Pacific Riviera (2010) and Woven Not Stranded (2021). You will find links to his music here.
He currently plays with The Narcs, The Midge Marsden Band, numerous jazz line-ups and with Doors tribute show The Lizard KingsNZ. In 2016 Ryan released an EP The Ryan Dickson Line, with fellow Narcs co-writer Andy Dickson. He is currently collaborating with Rodger Fox composing a commissioned work for poems by Hone Tuwhare. 2022 will see the release of a new Narcs album -they are scheduled to go on tour tour with The Jon Stevens Band in March.
Since 2002 Liam has been involved with the National Jazz Festival Tauranga as a Director, Artistic Director and now as Manager of the National Youth Jazz Competition. In August 2017 he was awarded Life Membership of the Tauranga Jazz Society.
He currently sits on the SAE NZ Academic Board. His Masters Degree researched The Rise of Rhythm and Blues in Christchurch 1960 -1970. He is a former columnist and reviewer for Fairfax Media and various magazines and continues to research and write articles about music. You will find articles he has written here.
MUSIC
