Thread: Jamie Cullum - The Pursuit

released Mar 2nd, 2010



from the album - I'm All Over It

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrFQvGtRzYA

from all music

British pianist/vocalist Jamie Cullum mixes jazz with melodic pop and rock into a crossover style that calls to mind such artists as Harry Connick, Jr., and Norah Jones. In that vein, Cullum will just as often cover a swinging jazz standard as a modern rock song, and his original compositions deftly move from earnest ballads to songs of sardonic wit. Having played guitar and piano since age eight, Cullum developed an avid interest in jazz passed down from his older brother Ben. Inspired by such piano icons as Oscar Peterson and Dave Brubeck, Cullum spent some of his formative years living in Paris, where he honed his abilities performing in jazz clubs.

Cullum eventually earned a degree from Reading University, during which time he recorded his first album, Heard It All Before, at age 19. The surprise success of that album eventually put him in contact with jazz bassist Geoff Gascoyne, who offered Cullum the opportunity to play on his album Songs of the Summer. With Gascoyne's encouragement, Cullum eventually recorded his second album, Pointless Nostalgic, released in 2002. The album benefited from a boost of publicity as it received heavy airplay on TV and radio personality Michael Parkinson's BBC 2 radio show. Cullum eventually signed with Universal Records and released his third album, Twentysomething, in 2003. Catching Tales and the compilation/mixtape album In the Mind of Jamie Cullum followed in 2005 and 2007, respectively. In 2009, Cullum was nominated along with Clint Eastwood for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for their composition "Gran Torino."

album review

Jamie Cullum tipped too heavily toward coffeehouse electronica on his fourth album, Catching Tales, obscuring his charms as both a jazzy pianist and a soft rock crooner, so he wisely scales back to his strengths on The Pursuit. Despite a brassy opening cover of Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things,” The Pursuit is hardly a retreat to Harry Connick, Jr. territory. Cullum anchors himself within melodic soft rock, providing a base for incorporating both his jazz and persistent electronica infatuations. Since The Pursuit is produced as a pop album, those electronica flourishes wind up seeming seamless, underscoring what Cullum does best: unabashedly mainstream adult pop, whether it’s the insistent rush of “Mixtape” or the wonderful ‘70s throwback “I’m All Over It.” Much of The Pursuit mines this fertilely mellow vein, producing a bunch of understatedly melodic music whose consistency suggests that Cullum realizes his strength as a soft rock singer/songwriter.

Track Listing

1."Just One of Those Things" (Cole Porter)
2."I'm All Over It"
3."Wheels"
4."If I Ruled the World"
5."You and Me Are Gone"
6."Don't Stop the Music" (Rihanna cover)
7."Love Ain't Gonna Let You Down"
8."Mixtape"
9."I Think I Love"
10."We Run Things"
11."Not While I'm Around"
12."Music Is Through"

He's a great musician but there are so many others out there who are as good or better but play in small bars and venues a lot of the time.

I don't suppose you know any that play in London jazz bars?