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. He released his own CD, Jason Mraz: Live and Acoustic 2001, which got the attention of all the major record labels.
His first release on Elektra, Waiting For My Rocket To Come, was released in November 2002. The album sold platinum and included the hit single “The Remedy (I Won’t Wait).” That success led to Jason’s second release, this time on sister label Atlantic, the Grammy-nominated Mr. A-Z, which debuted at #5 on the charts, and featured the hit single “Wordplay.”
For his third album, Jason traveled to England to work with producer Martin Terefe, best known for his work with Coldplay and James Morrison. The result is We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., which debuted at #3 on the album charts and achieved platinum status in the US and internationally as well. The album garnered three Grammy nominations - Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, both for “I’m Yours,” and Best Engineered Album.
“I’m Yours,” the first single from the album, is the only song to ever top the radio airplay charts in the U.S. in all four major formats-Top 40, Adult Alternative, Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary and has sold over three million copies.
In his spare time, Jason is an avid photographer in the unlikely realm of Polaroids. A book of 50 of his 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.