Royal Albert Hall,London
Musical genres battle it out as Cullum’s special guests, including jazz-soul singer Eska and rapper Coco, and add elegance and power to his cruise-ship crooningThe not-precisely-overpopulated terrain where jazz,hip-hop, exhibit tunes and pop meet is dominated by Jamie Cullum, or the only artist who can compliment the 19th-century spiritual Motherless Child for its “sick,sick beats” without sounding hopelessly contrived. His late-night Prom offered a twist on his multi-genre format: hosting a string of talents who operate in one or other of the genres, he created a highbrow mixtape that generously spotlighted his revolving door of guests. The Mercury prize-nominated jazz-soul singer Eska, and Sheffield rapper Coco,the tall-voltage Heritage Orchestra and Roundhouse Choir and others put him through his paces, a battle he won through force of personality.
He and Eska were an odd couple on Good Morning, and Heartache (“Pretty faithful to the original arrangement,” Cullum points out) – she elegant and measured, he a frazzle-haired piano-pounder. They were no odder than Cullum and Coco, or the latter’s muscular flow jabbed through Cullum’s buttercream crooning during a brassy care for for Sale. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com