(MusicPortal.com) (09/22/05)

Edited By Michael Bennett

NEW YORK, NY, USA - Explosive singer, songwriter, and pianist JAMIE CULLUM -- whose breakout album "Twentysomething" was a worldwide smash last year -- has finished work on his newest release, "Catching Tales," confirmed for U.S. release on October 11th via Verve Forecast Records.

Recorded in London and Los Angeles between April and June of this year and produced by "Twentysomething" producer Stewart Levine, the album showcases both Cullum's raw energy and insatiable musical curiosity and creativity.

"Catching Tales" kicks off with a bang -- literally -- with the lead-off track 'Get Your Way,' a strutting backbeat-driven collaboration with Dan The Automator. Other highlights include the wistful 'London Skies,' the easy groove of 'Mind Trick' and the lyrical touchstone 'Photograph.'

Consisting primarily of originals (plus a few choice standards like the smoky 'I Only Have Eyes For You' and a cheeky cover of 'Our Day Will Come'), the songs on "Catching Tales" were borne of the introspection and spontaneity that is the twenty-six-year-old's trademark.

"Songwriters often talk about how songs are caught, or grabbed out of the ether" says Cullum of the writing process. "This was clearly the experience for me during the first three months of this year."

"What solidified this was the way the album was recorded. It was done quickly. We caught the tracks in a net and trapped them in a CD - live."

The release comes on the heels of a remarkable run for Jamie Cullum.

Released in the U.K. in the fall of 2003 and in the U.S. in mid-2004, Cullum's "Twentysomething" marked the "the American debut of a major talent, a young man we will be hearing from for a long time," said Downbeat.

At every turn, Jamie Cullum proved a success with fans and critics alike, and his debut notched over two million units in sales (including almost 400,000 in the U.S.) and garnered a Grammy award nomination.

Highlights range from a perfect four-star review in People to "Best Singer Of The Year" honors in Vanity Fair, from dazzling concert reviews in The New York Times and Variety to rave reviews in Rolling Stone, Esquire, GQ and Interview, and from a sweep of major late-night shows to slots on "The Today Show" and "Austin City Limits."

Having weathered a non-stop, whirlwind schedule for the past two years, Jamie Cullum could have easily taken some well-earned time off in 2005. But instead of cooling his jets and catching some ZZZs, Cullum kept doing what he loves best: Making music, and recording a new album in "Catching Tales."

"I was so ready for it," Cullum recalls of crafting his sophomore set for Verve Forecast.

"The only way you get the energy to tour the world and do all the hard work is to love the music you make. I'd had two mad years but I was back at the place I remembered the best, which was just really wanting to do my music."

The new album took shape at a brisk pace, reflecting his high levels of enthusiasm and inspiration: Cullum wrote enough material for nearly two albums in four months, then set to recording the album.

The fourteen-song set begins with 'Get Your Way,' a strutting number featuring celebrated hip-hop DJ and producer Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School), which juxtaposes cascading ivories with bursts of brass and a fat, funky backbeat.

But the aesthetic team-up isn't as unlikely as it might seem, provided one is familiar with Jamie Cullum's eclectic musical background. "I listen to a lot of very percussive music; I used to always drum on my desk at school. I've always listened to a lot of dance music, and I love hip-hop."

Alongside a beautiful cover of Doves' 'Catch The Sun' ("They're one of my favorite British bands"), Cullum couples his trademark takes on choice standards ('I Only Have Eyes For You,' 'I'm Glad There Is You') with many self-penned tracks: The panoramic 'London Skies,' and 'Photograph' - a wise and wistful reflection on simply joys remembered.

Sly humor once again plays a pivotal role in Cullum's originals, such as on the pointed parody '7 Days To Change Your Life,' and 'Nothing I Do,' which offsets grouchy lyrical sentiments with animated rhythms and gossamer vocal harmonies.

"I wrote more this time, because I had the time, and I had the audience, and I wanted to," shrugs Cullum, reflecting on his increased number of songwriting credits on "Catching Tales."

"I also play standards, but when I made 'Twentysomething,' not a lot of people were doing that. But it's become a little bit more popular in the last two years, so it immediately has less of an interest to me."

Not that he deliberately reacted against the increased popularity of revisiting the great songbooks, either.

"I just had loads of ideas and loads of good songs floating around, and I fancied doing them. I put as much of myself into the arrangement of a song as I do into the writing of one, though."

"I just had this burning desire this time to want to write... but I would also think I failed if I didn't get just as much of myself through an arrangement of someone else's song."

"Catching Tales" also features singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, a collaborator on one of Cullum's own favorite new tracks, the sublime 'Back To The Ground.'

"It's a classic touring song about when you get home and you readjust to life," he remembers. "We polished off a bottle of wine, and jammed this blues song. He got on the guitar, I got on the Wurlitzer and we wrote the song within an hour."

"Ed was so inspirational, his impact is far more than just that one song, and I definitely want to continue to work with him."

Born in Essex, and raised in Wiltshire, Jamie Cullum was obsessed with all types of music from an early age: Rock, Hip-Hop, Acid Jazz, Blues, etc.

He discovered jazz as a teenager, via artists like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, but also showed an interest in the groundbreaking Steely Dan albums purchased by his brother Ben, who plays bass throughout "Catching Tales."

While studying English at college, Cullum began working as a singer-pianist anywhere he could get a gig: on cruise ships, in pubs, even wedding receptions. It was there that he crafted the explosive on-stage persona (captured on the 2004 DVD, "Live At Blenheim Palace") that would win him accolades in the years that followed.

When Universal Classics & Jazz snatched up the rising talent in the Spring of 2003, and sent him into the studio to make "Twentysomething," he was ready for the rigors -- and joys -- that waited ahead.

With Catching Tales, Jamie Cullum continues to redefine where the parameters of Pop and jazz 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."

"This is a better representation of what I am and what I want to be as a musician," he concludes.

"The way I like to approach music is to mix things round and, fortunately, I like to mix it with things that people find a bit more familiar. I love pop music, so I mix jazz and pop music."

"Not because I want to make it accessible, but because it's music that I enjoy. I guess I've just got an angle on it that people find a bit more interesting."

Jamie Cullum will be back on U.S. stages in the coming months, with select dates planned for the Fall and extensive touring beginning in early 2006.

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