Catching Tales by Jamie Cullum

Personnel: Jamie Cullum (vocals, guitar, keyboards); John Heard (double bass); Ben Cullum (bass guitar, background vocals); James Gadson, Ian Thomas (drums). Pianist and singer Jamie Cullum has been tagged as a new jazzbo, a Harry Connick, Jr.- type given to piano flurries and smooth crooning, when in truth he is a pop singer-songwriter much more in the mold of Ben Folds. It's true, however, that Cullum's piano playing can be jazz-inflected (especially on his solos), and his vocal lines can be nuanced, slinky, and interesting in ways that distinguish them from your run-of-the-mill popster. But if the contemporary pop tendencies were evident on TWENTYSOMETHING, this album's predecessor, they are even more pronounced on 2005's CATCHING TALES. In fact, Cullum makes a bid for au courant hipness by collaborating with Dan the Automator ("Get Your Way") and adding electronic flourishes throughout. These touches add a nice shimmer, but it is Cullum's straightforward tunes, relaxed and confident vocals, and cleve...