"      Whatever he may be about, insists Jamie Cullum on a hectic day in the U.K., it’s not any one thing. "One of the reasons I’m so into jazz is it gets into so many places. I love pop, rock, funk, electronic music. I try to visit all these places," says the dynamic British singer, songwriter and pianist who just may be winning new fans for jazz.

      His debut album, Twentysomething, sold more than 2 million copies worldwide even as he earned a Grammy nomination. It’s said to be the fastest-selling jazz debut in U.K. history. It was certified Platinum in six weeks.

      Now his second album, Catching Tales, continues his artistic exploration. "I just want to challenge myself musically and make more interesting music," he says, "and not do what people expect, perhaps."

      That may not necessarily please his record company, he acknowledges, but it’s about following his heart. ">From album to album I want to make sure no two sound the same. I want to do what’s most exciting to me and makes me want to get up and make music."

      Cullum was born in Essex and raised in Wilshire, soon showing interest in a variety of genres. He discovered jazz as a teen, inspired by artists like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis. He praises Davis for his innovation and his goal to hone his skills. He learned about "communication through improvisation" in watching Hancock.

      While studying English in college, he worked as a singer-pianist in pubs, on cruise ships and at wedding receptions, honing a distinctive live style.

      Universal Classics & Jazz signed him in 2003. He’s even played a private party for the Queen. The Hollywood Reporter hailed him as a "one-man British invasion."

      It’s all been very much a surprise, he admits. "I really always measured success by what I’m up to musically and how much I’ve accomplished as a musician. I’m only 5 to 10 percent at where I want to be musically," he says.

      Which is not to say he does not appreciate what he has been able to experience and accomplish so far. "The fact I’ve been able to travel the world and give concerts, I’m so proud and humbled. I’m very excited. I’m trying to make the most of it," he says.

      Cullum, 26, is excited too by the possibilities. "There’s an endless world out there. There’s a breadth and depth to making art, like writing or painting. It’s such an exciting thing to be part of. It just drives me. The possibilities are endless," he says.

      As to whether he is indeed winning new, like him youthful, fans to jazz, he said he would rather not think of it in those terms. He worries it may sound "preachy." He would prefer just to think of it as drawing people to his music. "I just try to make music that sounds good and that you can dance to and have a good time, and which makes you laugh and cry and feel good," he explains.

      He was attracted to jazz at an early age because of its ensemble base. He discovered dance and hip-hop in the nightclubs and school.

      Coming from a jazz foundation allows him to explore all the other genres, he says, forging an accessible style that blurs perceived boundaries between pop, jazz and other forms.

      Though jazz can be acquired taste, one developed over years, it seemed natural to him to embrace it as a teen. "It was as a young man listening to young music. When you discover it from your angle, the possibilities are much more based around youthful exuberance rather than an old expression," he reasons.

      Initially, he says, he did not think certain songs had a place in what he was trying to accomplish with jazz. Then he said he realized that everything does, which reaffirmed his belief that "jazz is the greatest platform to do whatever you want."

      When people ask him why he plays jazz, he tells them it is because he can take it to so many different places. And he does. His new album finds him embracing rock, pop, dance, funk and even classical.

      He sees Catching Tales as a better representation of who he is and what his goals are as a musician. He says he does not mix genres as a way to make it easier to get into his expression, but simply because it is music he enjoys.

      The CD is a 14-song collection that opens with "Get Your Way," a strutting hip-hop tune that spotlights celebrated DJ and producer Dan the Automator, whose credits include Modeling School, Handsome Boy and Gorillaz. There are cascading piano licks with explosions of brass and a funky backbeat.

      Cullum loves percussive music and he displays that on his instrument and in his art. He says he used to always drum on his desk at school.

      He wrote more for this album, actually enough for two records, because he had the time. One of those numbers on %Catching Tales% is his parody, "7 Days to Change Your Life." He continues to make standards his own, this time including "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "I’m Glad There Is You."

      He says that he injects as much of himself into the arrangement of a song as he does when he is writing one of his own. When he takes on a standard, he is still trying to sound like a young man, he explains, not recreate a vocal style from the past.

      He hopes that people are into what he does because of the way he goes about it. "It’s honest and I don’t feel I come from a particularly commercial place. I come from a feeling of just wanting to make music I feel passionate about," he says.

      He hopes that his passion and sincerity come through, as well as a sense that "maybe what I’m doing hasn’t been done in quite the same way."

      That talent finds its own infectious expression onstage. People who have not seen him in concert before might think the experience will be quite sedate and genteel as he sits behind his piano, he says through laughter. "There are moments of gentility and grace, and a lot of sweat and jumping around and aggressive music. It’s quite exciting and very unpredictable. There’s no set list. It’s completely off the cuff."

      Amidst that unpredictability it becomes quite a memorable time, he suggests, when everyone, including himself and the audience, "is in the same head space." He likes the feeling in concerts of being able to "do anything and go anywhere. You can just go crazy," he says.

      He truly loves to play in America. "American audiences are extremely passionate. They have a great hunger for live music that is pretty much unrivaled," he says.

      It is not surprising to hear Cullum say that music really does mean everything to him. "It’s the touchstone of my whole existence," he says. "My life doesn’t exist without listening to or playing music."