When Jason Mraz was fresh out of high school, studying to be a musical-theater actor in New York, he had a life-changing revelation while listening to John Coltrane at a party. "It was the first time I ever did LSD, and it was the first time I ever really listened to jazz," says Mraz, 25. "Coltrane's sax sounded like a voice. I realized that's how I wanted my voice to be."

Soon, Mraz abandoned New York and his Broadway aspirations and returned to his native Mechanicsville, Virginia, to write songs and learn guitar. He got a job at a tobacco shop and moved in with "a loner chick I knew from high school," who taught him the importance of writing every day. That lesson is paying off. His debut, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, is a sunny, strummy collection of mellow rockers that puts him in that cozy space between Jewel and John Mayer. Mraz has an accomplished, versatile voice, a crossword geek's love of language and the kind of fun-loving live show that makes people spread the word.

"I can really feel the momentum now," he says from Santa Cruz, California. "Last night was our first show of the tour, and I could sense the people who'd never seen me live before. It just feels good to turn these people on." Even though My Rocket came out in October, the cult of Mraz is just hitting its stride with the single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," now getting attention on radio and MTV.

He credits the coffeehouse scene in San Diego (where he moved after his second stint in Virginia) for giving him the chance to learn onstage. And he's still winning them over one fan at a time, touring with Tracy Chapman, Jewel and Dave Matthews Band. The lights of Broadway are getting more distant all the time. "I can belt out a few show tunes," Mraz says. But can he act? "Can I act? I can pretend like a motherfucker. So far I've fooled everyone I needed to fool to get somewhere."

See exclusive performance of "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)"

MARK HEALY
(April 9, 2003)