a thousand things - - an eco-friendly and inspirational polaroid travelogue of music and people
Jason Mraz left his Virginia hometown right after high school and struck out for New York City to find his fame and fortune. Honing his skills by busking on the streets in the Big Apple, Jason decided that perhaps this line of work could be performed in a nicer climate. Next stop: San Diego, and soon Jason moved from the outdoor beachside stages to inside a local hot spot called Java Joe's. It was there he met percussionist/vocalist Toca Rivera and the two made a name for themselves all along the California coast, garnering the attention of LA-based major record labels. His first release on Elektra, Waiting For My Rocket To Come , was released in November 2002, blending Mraz's early influences and coming-of-age sensibilities with country, roots rock, the poeticism of coffeehouse folk, elements of jazz, and hip-hop's rhythmic charge. The album sold platinum and led to Jason's second release, this time on sister label Atlantic, the Grammy-nominated Mr. A-Z , which debuted at #5, and featured the hit single Wordplay. For his all-important third album, Jason traveled to England to work with producer Martin Terefe, best known for his work with Coldplay and James Morrison (who guests on the intricate Details in the Fabric ). Terefe, along with songwriter/pianist Sacha Skarbek (who co-wrote James Blunt's You're Beautiful ), also played a hand in co-writing some of the tunes with Mraz. The result is We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. , his most self-assured effort to date. In true Mraz style, the 12 tunes are wrapped in clever, observant lyrics and strong, engaging pop melodies, but this time they are inspired by these moments of self realization, self empowerment and self improvement . Highlights include first single, I'm Yours, a warm breeze of a song about finally giving in to love and life's possibilities, set to a lilting island tempo. Another highlight is Lucky, a simple, endearing duet with new platinum singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat. We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. debuted on the charts at #3 in May 2008. I'm Yours shot to #1 at the AAA and Hot A/C radio formats and is Top10 in the Pop charts as of November 1, 2008. In his spare time, Jason is an avid photographer in the unlikely realm of Polaroids. A book of 50 of his unretouched and non-photoshopped photos entitled "a thousand things" was released in October 2008 and has spread the word about this multi-talented artist to the world of galleries and bookstores. Jason is the consummate musical and visual artist of the new century.