"TWENTYSOMETHING"

"TWENTYSOMETHING"
Jamie Cullum
(Verve/Universal)
ssssHere are two investment tips: Buy stock in Jamie Cullum, and buy his record.
The 24-year-old British singer-pianist has the makings of another Norah. His concerts draw rave reviews, and his major-label debut, "Twentysomething," is already a hit in the United Kingdom.
No wonder. Cullum has tons of talent, and while he borrows from a wide range of influences in pop, rock and jazz, the end result is distinctive and irresistible. Harry Connick is the most evident inspiration, but Cullum's music suggests he has also absorbed the best of Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Miles Davis.
The Norah Jones comparison is obvious, too. Cullum swings harder than the songstress but displays the same impeccable taste, performing tunes by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Cole Porter and Lerner and Loewe. Add to that staggering array five excellent original songs -- three by Cullum, two by his brother, Ben.
Cullum's expressive voice sounds a little too unvarnished and contemporary to call him a crooner, but he's a stylish singer nonetheless. The falsetto at the end of "Blame It On My Youth" is goose-bump good, and he makes "I Get A Kick Out Of You" fresh and hip.
The arrangements are terrific, too. Hendrix with horns works on "Wind Cries Mary," while strings support a lovely, leisurely "Singing In The Rain." Cullum rarely cuts loose at the piano, but there will be plenty of time for that later, after he becomes an American superstar.
'ONOFFON'
Mission of Burma
(Matador)
ssssReunion albums are usually exercises in nostalgia, and more often than not, they add little to a band's legacy. The idea seems even riskier for Mission of Burma, the influential Boston post-punk band that released its only studio album 22 years ago. Can men well into their 40s recapture the noisy, cathartic style they forged on such songs as the anthemic "Academy Fight Song" (later covered by R.E.M.) and the tense "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" (covered by Moby)? Should they?
Yes and yes. From guitarist Roger Miller's opening riff on "The Set Up," "OnoffON" hurtles forward with restless energy. Old fans will find it instantly familiar (and will recognize a few tracks resurrected from demo recordings), but anyone fond of Sonic Youth or Fugazi or And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead will relish discovering a vital, creative band, picking up where it left off, and definitely ON again.
"GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BAD NEWS"
Modest Mouse
(Epic)
sssCheeky title aside, Modest Mouse's seventh release is an engaging oddball of a disc, stocked with weird interludes, bizarre lyrical flights, and a dead-on pop sensibility. "Good News" has a lurching madness at its creative core, and echoes of the Talking Heads, the Flaming Lips, Badly Drawn Boy, and the Eels pop up all over the place.
Lead singer Isaac Brock effectively conveys the same tilted quirkiness as David Byrne on 16 songs that span styles from scratchy white-boy funk to noisy indy rock. The disc is augmented by a number of effects and production techniques that include what sounds like a baby babbling before one cut, and a guy hollering the chorus of "Bukowski" out of time with the song.
When it works -- and that's most of the time -- the Mouse's madness is intriguing. "The World At Large," which opens the disc, sounds a lot like the Flaming Lips before segueing into the scratchy funk of "Float On," an appealing track with a glass-half-full message about life.
Ambitious to a fault, "Good News" occasionally bogs down in its own cleverness. But as a whole it's a winning effort that delivers some soaring highs in its aggressive exploration of modern pop.
"I'M ALL FOR YOU"
Joe Lovano
(Blue Note)
sssIn a remarkable return to softer ballads, now so often eschewed by younger musicians eager to create jazz for the hip-hop audience, tenor sax player Joe Lovano taps veteran players pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Mraz and drummer Paul Motian in a jump back to the emotive music which he tuned into during his formative years in Cleveland.
Beginning with the lyrical "I'm All For You," a Lovano creation based on the harmonics of the classic sax piece "Body and Soul," and moving into the second track, "Don't Blame Me," the saxophonist takes a slow but swinging musical walk. He saunters through notes and riffs that grow in intensity because of how they are combined and played, and not because of any hard-blowing and bearing down on the tenor.
The rhythm of each track is based upon the interplay of soloist and sidemen, and reinforces the old dictum of "it's not how many notes you play, but how you play them" to create entrancing combinations which don't grow stale from repeated listening.
Lovano breathes new life into classics like "Stella By Starlight" and "Early Autumn," and takes on "Monk's Mood" minus Mraz's bass in a spirit of experimentation seen in his earlier recordings "Viva Caruso" and "Celebrating Sinatra."
What the jazz world has in Joe Lovano is one player who believes in recording what has been of importance in his personal life, and who feels that he and his audience will find each other.
"LIVING LEGENDS"
8 Ball & amp; MJG
(Bad Boy)
sssMemphis rap pioneers 8 Ball & amp; MJG are charging hard with their first release on the Bad Boy label, a mix of rough-edged rap tempered by soulful melodies.
Rap is increasingly focusing on the Dirty South style, and P. Diddy's label smartly signed this veteran Tennessee-born duo, giving them an opportunity to widen their reach.
What are they rapping about? Girls, cars, club and street life -- common rap fodder, albeit done well here. One of the top tracks, "You Don't Want Drama," has a cool, deep, buzzing beat as the duo directs some internalized anger at some ill-defined, shadowy opponent. It's hard to tell who exactly Mr. Ball and Mr. G are upset with, but it's a fun listen and you don't want that someone to be you.
"Straight Cadillac Pimpin"' is another hot track, with a catchy refrain. The rhyme schemes get a little simplistic as the album goes on, but a guest shot by Twista on "Look At The Grillz" livens things up. Twista raps so fast you'll have to listen to the song three times to catch his phrases, but they're worth it.
So is the album.