Jamie Cullum!!!!

Alright, I know I'm a little too old to be going gaga over a celebrity, but I'm a HUGE Jamie Cullum fan. If you're not familiar with him, he's a diminutive Brit that has successfully taken almost all genre's of music and made them his own. Yes, the pale-skin Brit has even done a hip-hop cover...brilliantly. Google him and step into his world. I guarantee it won't be easy to walk away. Last Friday I saw him live for the first time and I'll be damned if he wasn't GREAT! He was at the Hollywood Bowl and I've been awaiting this performance since February of this year.

I was at work one day last year and a new coworker attempting to score points with the boss (me) passed me his DVD. He said that he was a jazz artist. Ok, I have to admit that I was a tad bit skeptical. Not to say that white guys can't do jazz-hell, these days, white guys can even jump. But after what Elvis did to Rock and Roll and blacks, I have a sore spot when it comes to white crossover artist (Eminem excluded).

Admittedly, I babysat the DVD for about 4 weeks. One Saturday I had some free time so I figured I'd give a cursory glance just to say that I looked at it, and return it on Monday with one of those courtesy responses: Yeah I watched it...He's good!. But Jamie Cullum had prepared all his life for musically racist skeptics like me. I grabbed my laptop, plugged in my portable surround sound speaker system, put the laptop on my portable stand, grabbed a seat, sparked a bowl and pressed play. What happened next was somewhat of a mystery. Jamie took the stage and began singing acapella. Jazz singing simply doesn't sound good acapella and my suspicions about this guy were confirmed...or so I thought. Then he sat down at the piano and began ripping the damn keys up! I sat back in my comfy chair and stared at the screen as though Beyonce had just proposed. After a brief musical interlude, he began singing again and it all came together.

After the track was over, I sat nodding my head saying "Ok, ok..what you got next?" Well next, he did a cover of Pharrell William's Frontin', a hip-hop track that, at first I didn't recognize all jazzed up, but once I caught on, man, I'd been bitten. This guy did a beautiful rendition of the song.

As the DVD progressed it got better and better. With the surround sound and the haze, it was like I was right there at Blenheim Palace in England with him. He did one song titled, "Why Do Today What You Can Dooooo Tomorrow, and as a musician, I can pretty much predict where a songs going. This song took me on a journey that I will never forget! This song is a must-hear for anyone who loves music! This artist is just phenomenal. He plays several instruments and is just amazing to watch.

Halfway through I got the munchies and decided to pause the DVD to satiate my appetite and call my coworker to let him know that he'd just turned me into the president of the Jamie Cullum fan club. I don't want to bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that I've watched that DVD probably 1000 times already. I've purchased 6 copies to date (1 for myself, 4 for relatives and friends, and the last copy I purchased Friday night so that I could have it autographed by the wunderkind).

My youngest daughter, Alexis, is a huge fan at 6 so Friday night she accompanied me to the concert. Afterwards, we jumped in the autograph line and waited patiently to shake Jamie's hand and get his autograph. When it was our turn, I told him that Lexi knew all the words to All at Sea and she could sing a few bars if he wanted but Lexi sold me out. She ducked behind my legs and buried her face in my pants. Jamie got a kick out of that.

My birthday is this coming Friday and that concert was my gift to myself and I enjoyed every minute of the experience. I started to go back on Saturday but I figured I would wait until he returned and performed without the LA Philharmonic. Even though the performance was brilliant, I want to see him perform with Sebastian de Krom (drums) and Geoff Gascone (bass).

Do yourself a favor (and Jamie), check out this guy. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Get comfortable, pour yourself a glass of wine (or whatever mind-altering substance you prefer), get your significant other to join you, pop in the Live at Blenheim Palace DVD and enjoy the ride!

Prince