Pointless Nostalgic So 'Popstars' has come and gone. The benevolent Pete, Geri and Louis helped us choose yet another bunch of hopefuls who will hold our attention as long as Hear 'shorter shelflife than milk' Say. As the pop charts drown in a morass of manufactured unit shifters and major labels leak money by the millions, 'the kids' are looking elsewhere for their musical fulfilment (UK record sales are 15% down and tours for S Club, Blue and PopIdol are woefully undersold or even cancelled). But where are they finding it? In one of the only 'growth' areas of the music business - JAZZ! Yep, jazz is back. Nora Jones is number 1 in the album charts, clubs like Ronnie Scotts and the Jazz Café have twenty-somethings, even teens, queuing round the block and London now has two pirate radio stations dedicated to jazz! Whether it's the need to hear truly great songs or a desire to see 'real' musicians, a chord is being firmly struck with a new generation. As the Sunday Express says 'The jazz train is steaming back into town and everyone's on board'.
Jamie Cullum's voice evokes a classic scene: salt and pepper haired man in a tux, bowtie undone, cigarette clouding the air, serenading a lounge bar cognoscenti of the Martini sipping Rat Pack...the truth couldn't be further removed, but it's all part of the legend building around this handsome 22 year old. More 'Sk8ter Boi' than Moss Bross, Jamie saunters on the stage to an understated intro and explodes into the spotlight, playing the piano to a spellbound crowd of youngsters more at home in pop venues than jazz clubs. First its his youth that makes you do a double take, then his talent. How can someone so young be such a slick and savvy entertainer? Tunes as diverse as You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You and Radiohead's High & Dry vie for attention with self-penned classics like Pointless Nostalgic or the outrageously funny Who Wants To Be A Popstar. He's hip, and charming, and boy can he sing! His name is Jamie Cullum, a name which, in these days of disposable pop and with it careers, you are unlikely to forget.
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