As an amusingly eclectic sold-out crowd packed itself into the House of Blues for Jamie Cullum and Imelda May, I found myself passing judgment on my fellow concertgoers. A couple of fifty-something baby boomers? They must be here for the rockabilly songstress. A throng of young women holding a sign that reads, “Jamie, will you sing at my wedding?” Something tells me they can’t wait for Cullum to arrive on-stage. As the night wore on, however, I realized my judgments were premature—both of these artists offer a little bit of something for everyone.

Kicking off the night with a bang was Imelda May, an up-and-coming crooner out of Dublin who sings rockabilly, blues, and jazz with loads of power. Her album Love Tattoo recently hit #1 in Ireland, but most Americans would better recognize May from her sensational appearance at the Grammys with Jeff Beck, performing “How High the Moon,” in tribute to Les Paul.

Now, I’m the first to admit that rockabilly is not my usual cup of tea—my experience with it doesn’t extend much farther than playing “Rock this Town” on Guitar Hero. Despite that, by the time May was belting out “Johnny Got a Boom Boom” (and playing the traditional Irish bodhrán at the same time!), I was impressed. The highlight of her set was definitely “Poor Boy,” a classic Howlin’ Wolf blues jam that showcased her fantastic vocal chops. I might not listen to Imelda every day, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye on her in the future. If she can do for rockabilly what Amy Winehouse did for classic soul, she’ll be a big hit in no time.
After a brief break, during which teenagers fought their way to the front row and grayer heads lounged to the back, Jamie Cullum arrived on-stage lilting a jazz version of the Rihanna hit single “Don’t Stop the Music.” After the first chorus, Cullum snapped into the first of many great jazz piano solos, and it quickly became clear that Cullum is not just another pop singer—his skills as a jazz pianist are superb, and his abilities on the organ, guitar, stompbox, and as a beatboxer are just the icing on the cake.

Nearly matching Cullum’s talents are those of his backing band. All four members are standout musicians, seamlessly switching back and forth between instruments and always providing a tight groove over which Cullum nonchalantly tosses piano riffs, scatted verses, or simple tasteful melodies. That versatility is crucial when Jamie tries to span as many genres as he does—his recent release The Pursuit opens with a Cole Porter standard and closes with a house track.

The impressive collection of musical talent on-stage provided many highlights. On the Cole Porter standard “Just One of Those Things,” Tom Richards (sax/keys/percussion) and Rory Simmons (guitar/trumpet) took on the role of the entire Count Basie Orchestra and thrived. Chris Hill (electric and upright bass) was simply incredible playing alone while Jamie sang and scatted over “I Get a Kick Out of You,” during which his minute-long solo on upright bass captivated the entire audience.

But the best moment of the night was “Cry Me a River,” when Cullum stepped away from the piano, and the entire band crowded around a single small microphone. Drawing from both the Julie London/Ella Fitzgerald classic and the Justin Timberlake hit of the same name, Cullum scatted over a smooth backdrop of upright bass and horns, while Brad Webb (drums) somehow conjured a full beat out of a single snare drum.

That praise aside, the night as a whole belonged to Cullum’s piano skills. Nearly every song featured at least one section during which the frontman simply showed off his incredible ability to make the piano do his bidding. He can conjure the beautiful—the rubato introduction to “Photograph” brought chills to the spine—and the raucous. Cullum seems to draw particular pleasure from rocking out, as was on display when he covered Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” or mashing on his stompbox and beatboxing while he hammered the chords to “I’ve Got a Woman.” Despite at one point calling out the Berklee students in the audience for critiquing his missed notes, it is obvious that Cullum has studied his trade, and studied hard.

Perhaps Cullum’s only fault in the show was a tendency to stray too far from his innate ability to work magic at the piano. While I enjoyed his acoustic-guitar playing on “London Skies,” what made the song special was the multi-part harmony he taught the audience. And his attempt at debuting “Music is Through”—the house track that closes The Pursuit—was poorly executed and off-putting.

Truthfully, as impressed as I was with Cullum’s support, I would pay handsomely to hear him play an entire show alone. “Gran Torino,” which Cullum co-wrote with Clint Eastwood for the 2008 film, was an incredible display of interesting chord voicings and simple, poignant vocals. Between that and his final encore, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” I’m sure a solo performance would be too good to miss.

Setlist:
Don’t Stop the Music
I’m All Over It
Get Your Way
Just One of Those Things
Photograph
If I Ruled the World
I Got a Woman/These Are the Days/Gold Digger
Wheels
London Skies
Music is Through
Gran Torino
Cry Me a River
Mixtape
Encore:
All at Sea
The Wind Cries Mary
I’ve Got You Under My Skin

by Nick Brown