Jamie Cullum

I like to think that I have an eclectic taste in music. I can enjoy the works from such variable musicians as Miles Davis, Culture Club, Pearl Jam, Tchaikovsky, Eminem, and many, many others. I also like to think that I have a discerning taste in music as it has been difficult for me to get into much of the modern artists that are taking the world by storm like Lady Gaga, Kesha, and Miley Cyrus. I have attended numerous great concerts of noted veterans in the music industry. My two favorite concerts that I've ever been to are of the same person.

Jamie Cullum is not a household name in the United States. He may be in England, however, where he is originally from and seems to have a wide, devoted following. His latest album was released in the UK four months before it appeared here in the states. His music might be characterized as jazz/pop though it's difficult to pinpoint specifically. He is a multi-instrumentalist though he spends most of his time at the piano. His vocal style calls to mind Harry Connick Jr. but with a rougher, gritty edge.

I have been a fan of his for the last seven years and finally got to see him perform live in 2006. I was in awe of his show and knew that if I ever had the chance I was going to see him again. That chance came again this summer as I just saw him last week. I went with my wife who had never seen him before but is also a huge fan, and two other friends. As he walked out on stage the audience immediately erupted in joyful and applause even though he had yet to sing or play a single note. It was nice to know that even in a somewhat small venue in north Texas he had fans that were as enthusiastic as me. His band consisted of a set drummer, bass player, trumpet/guitarist, and tenor sax/keyboardist with Jamie on piano. He started the set with a new tune called "I'm All Over It" and the first sound that came out from his voice put a smile on my face that didn't leave for the at least the next two hours. His set list had a nice variety of tunes from the various albums he's recorded over the years. It was a perfect blend of fast, get up and dance type songs like "Get Your Way", poignant, mellow pieces like "Photograph" and others that lie in between like a sultry cover of "Please Don't Stop the Music" which in my eyes is a vast improvement from the original. He came out for an encore and did a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary" and his original ballad "Gran Torino" that he wrote for the motion picture and which was nominated for a Golden Globe. He stands at only about 5'6" and weighs no more than 125 but his stage presence is enormous. He truly grabs the members of his audience and takes them on a musical adventure that they will probably not experience the likes of very often. Even when he just talked between tunes his charisma made him seem like the kind of guy you could chill with have a meaningful conversation. The concert was just unbelievable and my description does not come even close to giving it what it's due. My wife said it was the best concert she's ever been to hands down.

After the concert we found his tour bus and waited with a small group of people for 45 minutes to an hour with just a hope that we could see him and possibly get an autograph. When he finally emerged from a back door of the theater he seemed happy to greet his fans and spend a little time with us. We got his autograph, picture with him, had a little conversation, and he even kissed my wife's cheek, which I guess is standard practice where he's from. She raved about getting kissed by Jamie Cullum all the way home. If you are not familiar with Jamie I implore you to check out his work and I don't think you'll be disappointed. If you ever get the chance to catch one his shows don't even give it a second thought, just buy the tickets immediately. You will be in for a phenomenal musical experience.

Now THAT is Music

Just about everybody has an opinion on music. Everybody has a favorite and a least favorite band. Everybody has a song that just reaches their core and pulls their emotional strings as far as they can stretch. On the opposite side everybody has a song that from the first note just disgusts them and their insides just groan in agony from having heard it. It is difficult, if not impossible, to judge what is good and what is trash with something so subjective as music. All we have are individual's preferences. Sure we can try to quantify it by #1 hits, record sales, harmonic complexity, or the test of time, but using those arguments hardly convinces anyone to change their preferences. How do we know what's good? I don't know, but I'll tell you what I think is good.

I now live in an area where there is a multitude of radio stations to choose from. Sadly, I mostly stick to two. I listen to the classical station and the jazz station. I could throw in the sports radio station that I occasionally listen to but that doesn't have much to do with music. This morning the first piece of music I heard was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. What a way to start the day! Later on I heard Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor. Even when I reached my destination I just sat in my truck and listened to it until the final movement was done. It was magnificent! It was played by Sir James Galway, the second greatest flutist I've ever heard live. The greatest was my own girlfriend, of course. The other day I heard Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 The Pathetique. Yesterday I heard the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. in C minor. After all these pieces of the music I just said to myself, "Now that is music." It is so deep, so complex, and yes, it has withstood an adequate test of time.

If you read my last blog you know I do have my favorites in the genre of pop/rock. But what I hear when I'm flipping around mainstream radio today is awful. Even most of what they play on retro radio stations does not please my ears. There is one station that says, "tired of listening to the same boring radio? Tune in to us...". I tried that and found out that they're just like the rest of them that I don't like. Almost everyday I try to listen to the popular radio stations and I hear a song that I like maybe 10% of the time. That's probably stretching it. Why is that? How come what mainstream radio wants us to listen to is so bad? Is it the bell-shaped curve principle? Like I said, I don't know. But its okay, the world can keep American Idol and I'll keep listening to the classical and jazz stations along with a handful of other people.

Byron Stripling and Friends

I have mentioned before that I'm a musician and a jazz enthusiast. I play the trumpet and have been very fortunate to have seen many great trumpet players in concert. If you're a trumpet enthusiast you should recognize the names of Wynton Marsalis, Maynard Ferguson, Wayne Bergeron, Allen Vizzutti, Arturo Sandoval, Chris Botti, Dan Fornero, and Ronald Romm. I cannot even begin to describe the combined greatness of these trumpet artists and have seen them all in concert, even met a few of them. Last night I had the opportunity to see another great one in concert.

For Christmas my grandma bought four tickets to a Byron Stripling concert. It seemed such a long time to wait from December until April, but it was well worth it. My grandma, my youngest brother, my girlfriend, and I all enjoyed A Cabaret Evening with Byron Stripling last night. He had a combo of drums, bass, and piano. They played many classic jazz standards from Duke Ellington's "Caravan" to Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia" to an incredible piano-only rendition of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". Stripling also sang a comical, play on words version of "Pennies from Heaven" called "Benny's from Heaven" and closed with the classic entertaining, crowd involving, gospel tune "When the Saints Go Marching In" with many others in between. Stripling dazzled with soulful melodic lines and tasty improvisation, the drummer Robert Breithaupt kept a solid, stylistic reign throughout, the upright acoustic bass player Lynn Seaton provided a strong foundation as well as fast improvisation (sometimes even with a bow) and perhaps the most impressive performer of them all was Bobby Floyd, a phenomenal pianist.

Afterwards, I guess because my grandma is a VIP, we went to a private party at an art gallery, had dessert and coffee, and met some of the performers. Stripling seemed very personable when I got his autograph and I had a nice little conversation with Bobby Floyd. My brother, who is a pretty good pianist, fantastic composer, and learning jazz also enjoyed talking with Floyd. It was a very fun evening and I thank my grandma for this amazing Christmas present in April. If you get a chance to look these guys up and learn more about them do it. And if you have the opportunity to see them in concert I highly recommend it.