On May 17th, 2005 nineteen year-old Katie Melua's latest CD and bonus DVD called Call Off The Search will be released. If you are a Jamie Cullum fans as we are, we hear that those who favor Cullum's music are also known to invest in the work of Katie Melua. At least, that's what Amazon tells Rugged Elegance.

Mike McGonigal on behalf of Amazon.com states:

Call Off the Search was released in the U.K. in November 2003 to deserved acclaim, alongside countless declarations that this 19-year-old British music school-educated, Russian-born singer is "the next Norah."

There are similarities--Melua does work within a jazz/blues idiom, is talented beyond her years, and concentrates more on classics than her own material (ten are covers and two originals).

But she's far more of a classic showbiz type singer than the sultry and sophisticated-sounding Jones.

On the single "The Closest Thing to Crazy," for instance, Melua's phrasing is pure show tune.

But it works for her, as it did for Lena and Liza before. The only weak link resides in a few straight-ahead blues songs, notably the 12-bar stomp 'My Aphrodisiac Is You.' ...

Melua is a great torch singer who deserves the spotlight; odds are you'll eagerly await her next album before you're even done listening to this one all the way through.

The Eastern European beauty who came to England to pursue her art describes her sound as bluesy, folksy and chilled.

She calls the late Eva Cassidy and Ella Fitzgerald her idols.

She says Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan inspire her songwriting.

Melua's Latest Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Call Off The Search
2. Crawling Up A Hill
3. The Closest Thing To Crazy
4. My Aphrodisiac Is You
5. Learnin' The Blues
6. Blame It On The Moon
7. Belfast (Penguins And Cats)
8. I Think It's Going To Rain Today
9. Mockingbird Song
10. Tiger In The Night
11. Faraway Voice
12. Lilac Wine

Disc: 2

1. Faraway Voice
2. Katie interview over 'I Put A Spell On You'
3. I Put A Spell On You
4. Closest Thing To Crazy
5. My Aphrodisiac Is You
6. I Think It's Going To Rain Today
7. Belfast
8. The Mockingbird Song
9. Crawling Up a Hill
10. Katie interview over 'Crawling Up A Hill'
11. Call Off The Search
12. Katie interview over 'Call Off The Search'
13. Anniversary Song
14. Making of 'Call Off The Search' (Video)
15. Closest Thing To Crazy (Video)
16. Call Off The Search (Video)
17. Crawling Up A Hill (Video)
18. Documentary 'Starting Out'

Katie was discovered by musical impresario Mike Batt at the Brit School. Batt praised her freshness and originality when he came to the performing arts school in England that Melua was attending.

Melua was only six years old when the civil war ended in 1991 and the Soviet Union collapsed. She says she will never forget the unsettling explosions that disturbed her at night.

Having grown up in the civil war-stricken Georgia, she also says her new life of luxury is one she may never get used to.

Melua explained:

I was born in the capital T'bilisi, where I lived in my grandparents' house with my parents, my younger brother and my uncles.

When I was four, I moved with my parents and younger brother to a one-bedroom flat in Bat'umi, a coastal town by the Black Sea.

We all lived in the same room, but I dreamed of having a bedroom of my own.

Now, when I'm staying in luxurious hotels, I think back to those days.

I was in Cape Town recently and I booked a standard room at the amazing Table Bay Hotel. It was upgraded to a suite with ten bedrooms and I ended up losing things in it.

I'll never get used to that kind of luxury.

Do you suppose if Katie was invited to play British royal Queen Elizabeth II's golden piano she would accept or decline? Recently, Jamie Cullum was encouraged to play on the early 19th century piano until he realized the damper pedal didn't work. Somehow "Days of Wine & Roses" just didn't sound the same.

Jamie Cullum - Photo Credit: JamieCullum.com

Congratulations Jamie for your success at keeping it real while performing for a royal audience. And for selling over two million copies of Twentysomething.

We may try to track you down in Spain or the UK this July just to see your live performance again after experiencing your music for the first time at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco last June.

And best of luck Katie and Mike as you step foot onto new soil around the world. May your music reach the souls of people the same way Jamie Cullum has.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "Call Off The Search, Katie Melua Has Been Discovered" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC