Wunderkind

The highlight of this past week was going to the Jamie Cullum concert at the Hollywood Bowl with T and N. Although it probably wasn't the best idea to go on a "school night" during the first week of the fall semester, particularly since the show didn't end until almost 11 p.m. and we all had to be up early the next morning, I had a great time and I think T and N did also. T goes to the Hollywood Bowl each summer, and she invited N and me to join her for some of the shows. I was the one who suggested Cullum's show for the three of us.

Cullum is only 29 years old, but he's already an "old hand" at live performing. His musical style is a mixture of jazz and pop, and he's a skilled piano player and an enchanting vocalist. He was playing with the legendary Count Basie Orchestra, and they were in fine form on Wednesday night (despite the bandleader claiming that he'd had a bit too much to drink before the show started). Cullum relished every minute of playing with these pros, and he even did some of his trademark jumps while playing the piano.

Cullum sang several songs that have become associated with him over the years, including a great rendition of Radiohead's "High and Dry." He also delighted the crowd at the end of the show with a version of "Twentysomething," a great song that he says he can only sing for another year before he has to give it up. I also liked "Blame It on My Youth"; it has some incredible lyrics about the ways that we feel when a relationship might be over.

My favorite moment of the night, however, started when Cullum, alone with the piano, started playing "Singin' in the Rain." He even tapped out some of the rhythms on his piano, duplicating (in a way) the sound of someone tap dancing. The best part, though, came when he started singing the lines to a different song. After a couple of lines, we all realized that he had segued into a version of Rihanna's "Umbrella," a somewhat different song about rain. The combination of the songs was fresh and inventive, and I had to smile all the way through the medley. It got pretty big applause from an already appreciative crowd. Perhaps you wouldn't expect Rihanna's song to sound as good without the thumping beat behind it, but it holds its own well.

Cullum has a pretty keen sense of humor as well. In his singing of "I Get a Kick Out of You," he substituted "McCain" for "cocaine," as in "Some get a kick from cocaine/I know that if/I took even one sniff/It would bore me terrifically too." Imagine the reaction that his substitution got from a Hollywood Bowl audience.

There were two opening acts, both of them good in their own ways, but I would have preferred shorter sets by them so that Cullum could have had more stage time. He was really the highlight. The first performer, Elizabeth Shepherd, a Canadian singer-musician, was good in a sort of Joni Mitchell-esque way. Not that she was as good as Joni Mitchell, but she has that sort of vocal quality. She is also an exceptional pianist. The second act was A Christian McBride Situation, an improvisational jazz group featuring the aforementioned McBride and Patrice Rushen (she of the great dance song "Forget Me Nots"), among some other very talented musicians and singers. Let me just state the improvisational jazz is not really my favorite style, and leave it at that.

McBride did come back later to duet with Cullum on an amazing rendition of "Nature Boy," the Bowie song last heard in Moulin Rouge! McBride plays the bass beautifully, and Cullum matched him in enthusiasm during the song. It was another one of the bright spots of the evening. They sang it in honor of Cullum's birthday on Wednesday. I'm glad we were there to share in his day; it was a treat for us as well.