A young English jazz-pop crooner who’s intent on proving how much hipper he is than Norah Jones, Jamie Cullum updates his crisp throwback sound on the follow-up to his more conservative American debut, 2004’s Twentysomething. Like that disc, Catching Tales presents a mix of songbook standards, contemporary pop tunes, and originals by Cullum and his brother Ben. There’s a pensive version of “Catch the Sun” by the British guitar-rock act Doves as well as renditions of such wedding-band evergreens as “I Only Have Eyes for You” and “I’m Glad There Is You,” the latter likely endearing Cullum to the same grandmotherly types who took a shine to recently deposed American Idol hopeful Kevin Covais. But Catching Tales’ modern vibe has less to do with the repertoire than it does with the disc’s ear-tickling production: in opener “Get Your Way,” Dan the Automator layers Cullum’s piano over a head-nodding beat jacked from an Allen Toussaint composition, and “Our Day Will Come” twinkles with leftover trip-hop atmospherics. The sonics are cool, and though Cullum still seems as if he might be a real chore to hang out with, they make the album a lot more fun.
Jamie Cullum | March 30 | Opera House, 539 Washington St, Boston | 617.931.2000
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Jamie Cullum: http://www.jamiecullum.com/
