Cullum, Kelly Kick Off 56th Newport Jazz Festival

International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, RI
Friday, August 6
photo courtesy of Jim Carty

To kick off the Newport Jazz Festival, British jazz sensation Jamie Cullum and Boston’s young and talented Grace Kelly played a Friday night gig at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in downtown Newport. Kelly, an 18-year-old saxophonist and vocalist, kept her set pretty tame and traditional, despite her untraditional attire (very short black leather skirt). Her quintet opened with “Summertime” followed by “101” that she wrote for her album, Mood Changes. She also gave the crowd a teaser of yet-to-be recorded material she has written.

The soft-spoken Kelly sang with a sweet voice, her set sticking mostly to the classics. Her quintet did a straightforward version of Ellington’s “Caravan” and Miles Davis’s “Round Midnight,” a nice homage to Davis whose album by that title was inspired by the earlier Newport fests in the 1950s. Kelly ended her set with a new composition she wrote called “Searching for Peace.” Later, she relaxed some and cut loose on a guest appearance during Jamie Cullum’s set.

Cullum emerged full of energy, waving a tennis racket in honor of the concert’s location, and played a nearly two-hour set. He opened with a jazz standard, Cole Porter’s “It’s Just One of Those Things,” which he covered on his latest album, his fourth, titled The Pursuit. He then played “Get Your Way,” a soulful, more pop tune that ended with him standing on, then jumping off, the piano. He assured any nervous folks in the crowd that he’s light as a feather and wasn’t damaging the piano.

His weekend performances in Newport were the last of his American tour and, he told the crowd, the band had to overcome some instrument issues that led to the borrowing of a bass and saxophonist playing keyboard because his horn was broken. But on they played, from the standards to Cullum’s originals, to some covers from other musical genres that he puts a jazzy spin on such as “Please Don’t Stop the Music” first popularized by Michael Jackson and Radiohead’s “High and Dry.”

Cullum thanked Newport Jazz Fest founder George Wein who first brought him to play at this fest in 2004 and whose clout also had gotten Cullum a gig at Carnegie Hall. He seemed quite at home among the jazz lovers in Newport. “I’m glad we can talk jazz,” he told the crowd. “Jazz people have the most open ears of any other music fans.”

He then introduced perhaps the most poignant song of the evening by lauding one of his inspirations. “Harry Connick, [Jr.] showed me you can be a rock star and a jazz star at the same time.” And with that he played, “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans,” which he said was the first tune he ever heard Connick play, a song Connick had recorded with another Nawlins legend, Dr. John.

Cullum did what he does best, helping a younger generation get in touch with jazz classics while showing his originality and talent. One highlight was a cover of Stephen Sondheim’s “Not While I’m Around,” which featured some particularly beautiful jazz piano. Cullum, as did Kelly before him, also played a version of “Caravan,” performing it with his band in the aisle.

Grace Kelly joined Cullum on stage during “These are the Days,” a lovely tune from Cullum's first album in which he played on a Wurlitzer while Kelly played sax riffs in a call-and-response. Interestingly, Cullum’s set that night and the next day at the Fest omitted his new single, “Wheels,” and another popular original he usually performs live, “Photograph.” But he did play an eclectic, crowd-pleasing set.

At the end, he worked the crowd into a frenzy, getting everyone to their feet dancing to “Mixtape” from his latest disc. He then slowed it down with his cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Wind Cries Mary.” And the crowd was then sufficiently jazzed up for the two-day fest that would begin the next day.