Jason Mraz’s gift of gab

Mr. A - Z is the new CD of Jason Mraz. On Atlantic and distributed by Warner, it’s a compelling CD that shows just how much Jason is ready to stretch on this, his true sophomore effort of newly-recorded material (discounting the live CD which came out late last year). The idol of our local acoustic artists, thanks to songs from his first album like Sleep All Day and The Remedy, Mraz refuses to be pigeonholed, and proves there’s more to his artistry than we could have anticipated.

When he dropped by Manila first quarter of 2004, he did one headlining gig with his full band at the Aliw Theater and did a solo outing at Dish the previous night. With Paolo Santos opening for Jason at Dish, the rapt, standing room-only audience was thoroughly charmed as unannounced, Jason slipped on stage while Paolo was doing his acoustic renditions of R & B standards, and proceeded to show that deep down inside, Jason was a true blue R & B, hip-hop aficionado. If it’s white soul-ed rap you hanker for, Jason showed he could out-talk the competition, and this hidden yen is really laid out for us on this new CD!

The first single (and second cut) Wordplay, shows us the promise of the rap elements found in his Streetside Prophet cut from the Waiting for My Rocket to Come CD. And the succeeding song, Geek in the Pink, has shades of Jamiroqui written all over it. The strains of R &B spill over to Did You Get the Message. But don’t fret, the Jason we knew and loved from the first CD is still evident. With more attention played on compositional structure, songs like Life is Wonderful and Bella Luna had me remembering such ‘70s and ‘80s artists as Paul Simon and Harry Nilsson.

There are two cuts, Plane and O Lover, which I found to be letdowns of a sort, but he finds form again with the three cuts that close the CD. The Forecast is especially wonderful, akin to being this CD’s The Remedy. The closing cut, Song for A Friend, showcases just how experimental Jason is now in getting into song structure. The song seems to be fading away, when suddenly a chorus coda emerges, one that’s completely unexpected and proves that Jason is one likely candidate for composing a song cycle that could eventually be transformed into a musical stage play. There’s a heretofore unseen dramatic facet to how Jason is composing his new songs. Also note how light operatic elements are given play on the earlier cut, Mr. Curiosity.

The lyrics to Wordplay have a tongue-in-cheek quality to it, easing the pressures that the record company will put on him as he creates that dreaded second CD and tries to avoid the "sophomore jinx". If there was one thing evident in the lyrics Jason would come up with, it was that he was always ready to draw from his surreal lifestyle as a performer, and turn those experiences into self-deprecating verses. As the clichés go, he’d sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo, and charm the wool out of your socks. On this new CD, Jason certainly proves that he’s still slicker than honey when it comes to Wordplay.