Self-proclaimed shoe head Jamie Cullum and band totally impressed me this past week. Finishing out their US Tour at Time Square's Town Hall, Cullum was clearly of the mindset to enjoy every second he had on stage in such a storied venue (he mentioned being influenced by recordings of Charles Mingus's "Town Hall" concert as well as others). Despite not being as familiar with his work as I now wish I was, I instantly took notice of Cullum for the simple fact he was wearing a sweet set of Nike's (as pictured above). The shoes were great, the show was incredible.
Cullum has a timeless quality to his voice and a seemingly endless supply of pep and showmanship. His sound is based around jazz and influenced by many genres. Peep this paragraph from his bio:
Jamie Cullum continues to redefine where the parameters of pop, and jazz – indeed, all musical genres – are drawn. "At first I didn't think certain songs had a place in what I was doing with jazz, but I've realized that everything does, and that reaffirms my belief that jazz is the greatest platform to do whatever you want. People ask why I play jazz. It's because you can take it to so many different places. You can embrace dance music, rock, pop music, classical, funk, everything… And I touch on all those things in this record."
Among the songs I enjoyed were a spirited version of Jimi Hendrix's "the Wind Cries Mary" (from his first album), Radiohead's "High and Dry" (first album), and his latest single, "London Skies" (dedicated to his Brasilian girlfriend....mmmm....brasilian....oh, wait my inner monologue....).
Young singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile opened the show with her beautiful voice (kind of Melissa Ethridge but not as raspy); unfortunately I was only able to catch the end of her set. Jamie and Brandi duet-ed on a wonderful version of Elton John's "Rocket Man".
