Interlude

With a knack for blending classic jazz with modern pop, Jamie Cullum isn't exactly who you’d call a traditionalist, and that’s precisely what makes Interlude so surprising. Recorded with an intimate acoustic combo and built around a selection of indelible jazz standards, Interlude is the first of Cullum’s albums that truly sounds like it could have been recorded during the golden age of postwar jazz, echoing everything from John Coltrane’s classic quartet on “Out of this World” to Rat Pack razzle-dazzle on “Lovesick Blues.” With Cullum’s deceptively easygoing voice placed front and center, however, the album is really a singer’s showcase. Cullum expertly swings from joyous abandon to wounded heartbreak, proving he can easily stand alongside his jazz heroes.