Jazz is the new black.  Wearing the new threads is Jamie Cullum, the 24-year-old bright spark who's flipped the old trend inside out with his non-conformist attitude.  No lounge suits, ties or a bar stool to perch on - it's baggy jeans, t-shirt with rolled up sleeves and those awful Converse shoes.  

When he makes his entrance onto the stage to the musical accompaniment of his seven-piece band (practice from those Parkinson shows have paid obviously off), he really is tiny so where he stores all that energy is quite puzzling.  Revved up, it's unleashed in one, big throttle and like the Duracell bunny, Cullum keeps going.

He bangs ferociously at his piano and beats his palms on any surface he can lay his hands on much like a rock band smashes its instruments except Cullum probably sustains more pain and injury.  Quite the joker too as he stamps the keys with his feet on 'I Get A Kick Out Of You'.

The hits from Twentysomething, his current album nestling in the Top 10, are naturally played generously but spontaneity is the theme and a clever one too.  In dispersed with his helpful explanations and short stories, Cullum promises a few surprises - a bluesy version of The Who's 'My Generation' and 'I Won't Grow Up' from the animated film Peter-Pan, which for Cullum who mistakenly looks like a kid, is a way at laughing at himself. 

And what about the Duracell bunny?  Well, like Jamie, you just wish you could switch it off sometimes.  That's the thing with Jamie, once he starts, he takes ages to stop.  Still, he's hell of a lot of fun to watch.
(4/5)

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