Pointless Nostalgic

by

Jamie Cullum

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I discovered Jamie Cullum totally by chance, after seeing his name mentioned in reviews of some other singers here at Amazon, and I'm SO glad I did. Listened to the samples, then ordered both Pointless Nostalgic and his sophomore release, Twentysomething - and it was love at first listening.

The first word to use to describe Jamie is "real." His singing and piano playing are so exuberant, enthusiastic, and genuine, I think you'd have to be dead not to be transported into a state of bliss right along with him. The listener can tell immediately how very much this guy loves music: Jamie positively exudes a fetchingly youthful joy in performing that comes across even on a recording (I can only imagine what fun he must be to see in concert).

The second word is "original." What's most startling about Jamie, I think, is how very, very well he incorporates several genres of music to craft a style that is 100% his own. He must have grown up listening to many kinds of music; amazingly, Jamie has a feel for every style he tries. This is unusual: many rock singers, for example, fall flat when they attempt jazz; opera singers sometimes sound ridiculously overblown singing standards; but Jamie has a genuine feel and talent for jazz, rock, and standard ballads: he doesn't sound out of place performing any of these, but natural and comfortable throughout this album. It's a delight to hear.

But when I say his music is totally his own, I mean that you won't find another wannabe Sinatra clone here - and don't get me wrong, I adore some of the excellent younger proponents of the genre, like Harry Connick, Michael Buble, and young John Stevens. Jamie, though, attacks each selection in a fresh, new way I can pretty much guarantee you haven't heard anywhere before. He's completely at home with material as diverse as "You and the Night and the Music" and the excellent original, the title song, "Pointless Nostalgic," which is more in the rock-ballad vein. When he does a standard, he absolutely makes the song his own: you DON'T find yourself thinking about other, classic performances of the song, as you might very naturally sometimes with other singers. That in itself is extraordinary.

Jamie is evidently very popular and successful in his native UK, and I hope he finds the exposure in the US to become a major star here, as well. (I've heard him on the radio only once, on the Sunday morning jazz vocal show on our local public radio jazz station, WBGO; I think radio programmers may be puzzled as to what genre to slot Jamie into, which is a shame, because it's precisely his versatility that makes him very, very special and distinguishes him from the rest of the pack.)

If you're intrigued, get this album. If you like great jazz vocals, get this album. If you want some fresh new pop/rock, get Jamie's album. I could go on exuding superlatives for a long, long time about this guy, but I'll just close with a huge WOW.