Thursday 9th February 2006
New Album: MR. A-Z
Release Date: February 6th, 2006
‘Sensational follow-up to the San Diego wunderkind’s million-selling debut.’ MOJO
‘Mixing bohemian self-deprecation, candy-coloured hip hop and wistful power-pop, the self-styled “geek in the pink” seems tailor-made for sensitive types with a wry world view like his.’ Uncut
‘Exciting, ambitious stuff.’ Nuts
Jason Mraz is set to release his pseudo-self titled new album Mr. A-Z on February 6, 2006 through Atlantic Records. Produced by the legendary Steve Lillywhite (U2, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads et al) at Allaire Studios near Woodstock, NY, Mr. A-Z is the inspired follow-up to Mraz’s acclaimed 2003 debut record 'Waiting For My Rocket To Come' which has to date sold over a million copies worldwide. The first single to be taken from Mr. A-Z, the exuberant ‘Geek In The Pink’, will be released on March 6, 2006.
To mark the release of Mr. A-Z, Jason Mraz is set to return to the UK for live dates in February, both as the main support on James Blunt’s massive sold-out arena tour, kicking off in Glasgow on February 10, and also to play a clutch of his own headline shows, including Shepherd’s Bush Empire on February 21.
Says Jason of his new album; “Mr. A-Z is 365 days of Mraz in just under an hour. The album took exactly a year to make, from the day the first word was scripted in January 2004 to mastering in January 2005, giving the whole affair a true four-season feel. These twelve songs recognize the events of my last few years, in which I left the coffee houses where I was raised and was thrust into the theatre and arena circuit with the success of ‘Remedy’. I’m pretty sure this album will please audiences from both my caffeinated roots as well as those from my recently discovered Red Bull-and-beer-chugging jam band scene.”
Mraz honed his intimate approach to audience building in the burgeoning coffee shop scene of San Diego. It was also during his early coffee shop days that he hooked up with drummer Toca Rivera, whose Djembe style percussion and charismatic stage presence added to Mraz’s one-of-a-kind live performance. “I met him at an open mike. He was playing with his brother at the time,” says Mraz. “I fell in love with everything he was doing. It was so simple. His whole thing he had going on was kind of the opposite to me. It was everything I was looking for in a band. We’re such an odd couple. It’s been such a blast.” And it’s precisely that un-checked exuberance that has made Mraz’s live shows one of the most talked about in years. He’s quickly built a coast-to-coast legion of loyal fans that follow his comings-and-goings via the internet, devouring Mraz’s aforementioned humorous notations of just where he fits on pop’s self-important pecking order.
Click here to buy 'Jason Mraz - Mr A-Z
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
