Jamie Cullum
The Pursuit
Verve Forecast
March 2, 2010
By Matt Kiernan
Jamie Cullum is an artist who has had the ability to take the traditions of jazz music and apply them to modern music, much in the way of contemporary artists such as Norah Jones and Lily Allen.
Cullum keeps tempos in his music that resemble the pace of swing music with the range in voice of Frank Sinatra. His songs have the musical depth of professional jazz musicians that you would see perform in cafes and lounges, exceeding such mastery to reach the fields of pop music.
The Pursuit continues his modern jazz sound that he started in the early 2000’s to ring in the new decade. The Pursuit is a great collection of new material, making a comeback from his last release, In the Mind of Jamie Cullum, which strayed away from his sound, working into electronic beats.
“Just One of Those Things” is a look back at traditional jazz music and the era of Sinatra, with Cullum working his fingers all over the piano during his impressive solo. It holds an old-school NYC sound, discussing a love affair in a city.
“I’m All Over It” is a signature Cullum song with pounding piano chords and bass drum. The song has a great anthem of “I’m all over it now!” and Cullum later singing, “I won’t come back/ no I won’t come back.”
“Wheels” sounds similar to a Coldplay track with quickly paced drums and Cullum singing quietly with bursts of verses called out. Cullum sings, “Tell you what I’ve heard/ the wheels are falling off/ the wheels are falling off the world,” attempting to cheer up someone who’s unhappy at a point in their life.
What Cullum has in addition to his vocal and musical prowess is the passion he puts into every song he writes and performs. His songs are well crafted and make a strong attempt at getting the listener to feel what he’s feeling.
The Pursuit is a wonderful modern jazz album that crosses the various genres of jazz, while speaking to contemporary audiences.
