Jamie Cullum gets a kick mixing it up on the ivories

He jumps on top of the piano and pounds the keyboard with his foot. He plays Cole Porter and Jimi Hendrix. He was in a rock band and a jazz band and now fronts a band that plays both at the same time.

He's Jamie Cullum, a slight, boyish, 26-year-old piano man from England who launches a yearlong, worldwide tour Wednesday at the Moore. The show sold out so quickly, the Moore's rarely-used third balcony was opened, and those tickets are nearly gone, too.

By tour's end, Cullum could be the next pop sensation. He's already well on his way. His debut "Twentysomething" album sold 2 million copies (half of them in England, about 325,000 in America). His sophomore release, "Catching Tales," released last October, hasn't fared as well — thus the new tour.

Cullum is obviously depending on the strength of his live performances to push that new album into the charts. Already a lively, likeable performer, he's sure to pull out all the stops in concert. Cute and cuddly, he'll probably charm the ladies like mad, then bring out the rock music to satisfy the guys.

Concert preview


Jamie Cullum, Matt Wertz, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Moore Theatre, Seattle; $26 (206-628-0888, www.ticketmaster.com; information, 206-467-5510, www.themoore.com, www.jamiecullum.com).

Cullum's repertoire is drawn from jazz and pop, from the past and present, including breezy original songs, mostly about being young. Onstage, he can go from Porter's "I Get A Kick Out of You" to Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary"; from the Frank Sinatra finger-snapper "Old Devil Moon" to the Beach Boys' sublime "God Only Knows." He can switch from jazz to show tunes to pop to rock, one right after another, just like that.

The unifying force in Cullum's performances is the power of a good song. He works from the perspective that a good song is a good song, no matter who wrote it or when. Lots of the standards he does are familiar to those 50 and over, but are like new to young people. That's one of the most positive aspects of his success: He's introducing young fans to timeless, classic songs.

What often gets overlooked about Cullum is that he's an excellent pianist. He has a free-flowing, imaginative style that's easy on the ears. He only pounds the piano (sometimes with his feet) for laughs — which he also gets with his funny remarks between songs.

It's not surprising to see three generations of one family at Cullum's shows, but he mostly seems to appeal to twenty- and thirty-somethings, and draws more females than males.

Opening Cullum's show here is singer-songwriter Matt Wertz, whose latest album is "Twenty Three Places."

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com