Always mad about Harry and Jamie

What is it that Michael Bublé is doing right but that Harry Connick Jr. and Jamie Cullum are doing wrong or are not doing enough of these days?  I want very much to find out.  This is because I had lately been listening to new albums by Harry and Jamie and all the time I could not help but think how good they are.

That is why I am aghast to hear kids say that they adore Michael and think Tony Bennett is cool but they had not heard of Harry or Jamie. The fact is these guys had both been blessed with such great voices and an amazing degree of musicality. They are in a lot of aspects as good or even better than Michael.

I am sure that Michael derived a lot of inspiration from Harry, one of the biggest-selling artists in the world. Harry was after all, the Bublé of his generation, a kid who understood and could interpret with aplomb the standards. Remember him in the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack? He has had an excellent career since. 

He is a Grammy-winning singer, composer, pianist, performer, producer and a lot of other things.  He is an actor on Broadway, Pajama Game, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, in the movies, Independence Day, Hope Floats and on television, Law And Order SVU, Will & Grace. He is also quite a looker. So I do not like it when there are people who say they have not heard of Harry. In a way, I am glad that he has accepted the job of being a judge in the next season of American Idol. Now everybody will really get to know Harry.

As for those of you out there, who are already Harry fans, make sure you get a copy of his latest album. The title is Every Man Should Know, which made up of songs composed, arranged, orchestrated and conducted by Harry himself. He produced with Tracey Freeman and also played the piano and some of the other instruments in all cuts.

Harry sets a mood with the album and it is unmistakably masculine. This is a man exploring his feelings and confronting the roles that he is expected to play.  It is a topic that deserves several in-depth books and lectures but Harry manages to nail the emotions down pat with his music. Men will relate to what he says and the women will love him and start wondering why their men are not as honest, as unafraid of emotions and as loving as Harry.

He covers a wide range of styles in the album. It is pop with lots of country, soul, gospel and of course, jazz. Best examples are Love My Life Away the country ballad about dying; the light jazzy I Love Her about true love; and for that characteristic Harry swagger, there is Every Man Should Know. Nothing compares though to the affecting Let Me Stay, which I like best.  Featuring the enchanting sax of Branford Marsalis this is Harry, sincere and sexy with the words every woman wants to hear. Why can’t all men be like him.

There are also Come See About Me One Fine Thing, Greatest Love Story, Friend (Going Home), Being Alone featuring trumpet by Wynton Marsalis; You’ve Got It, Supposed To Be featuring Kim Burrell on vocals; and Time To Go.

If there are musical instruments that you do not recognize in Jamie’s new album Momentum, rest assured that your ears are not playing tricks on you.  Just like what he has done before, the now 30-year-old wiz kid of jazz has simply included sounds from everyday things that he likes to play with.  Remember, aside from his piano, the instrument most identified with him is a wooden box on which he creates music.

This was never a surprise. Jamie has done rock and hip-hop before settling on jazz when he was only 20 years old. That was the album Pointless Nostalgic where his version of Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So made him an instant sensation. From time to time, these influences would surface in his song, lending an edgy flavor to what is expected to be smooth. The result is young and exciting and makes the listener wonder how on earth did he come up with that?

Momentum is a typical Jamie album. There are some new works, The Same Things, When I Get Famous, You’re Not The Only One and new takes on standards, Love For Sale and Pure Imagination. The writing is solid, untethered by conventions and has a wider pop bent than in his earlier releases. As a singer, his vocals are at its strongest. His version of Anthony Newley’s Pure Imagination is one of the best I have ever heard.  And everything else just flows into an enjoyable package. 

I initially thought that maybe Jamie or Harry should think about being less uncompromising for the sake of acquiring a wider market. But remove their edges and what will you be left with? Some nice sounds.  We already have too many of those around.