Taylor Swift in ragtime? Singer knew she’d found her tribe in Postmodern Jukebox

Like so many of the vocalists that have passed through the ranks of Postmodern Jukebox, Therese Curatolo introduced herself to the masses via a video. And like the scores of videos that have spread the word on the unconventional throwback approach PMJ takes to pop music, the clip is of a straight-up performance that places the ensemble’s calling cards squarely on the table: a buoyant lead vocal that Curatolo delivers in spades, an arrangement reflecting jazz, swing and blues styles of decades past and a subtle but pronounced level of camp.

So here’s the breakdown. Curatolo, dressed like a 1940s suburban housewife, sings with a schooled balance of swing and sass while backed by a jazz trio that includes Scott Bradlee, the mastermind behind Postmodern Jukebox. The performance breezes along until the vintage air is purposely shattered by a cameo from a guitarist whose searing electric solo tosses you back to today. Curatolo responds by coolly filing her nails as the music burns.

But here’s the catch, the strategy that gives the video the definitive PMJ stamp. The song performed isn’t some swing relic from the Post War era. It’s “Misery Business,” the breakout 2007 hit by the Tennessee rock troupe Paramore. This is the PMJ playbook in a nutshell: Take modern-day pop compositions and rewire them with arrangements rooted in yesteryear.

For Curatolo, one of a team of vocalists to be featured in one of the three PMJ ensembles touring the world this fall (the other two are currently at work in Australia and Europe), this kind of stylistic displacement is a musical home away from home.

“For the longest time, I was shouting at the universe, ‘Where do I need to be?’ I had to find a performance world somewhere. I’m such an old soul. My heart feels like it could not have been born in ’87 but perhaps ’37. I didn’t feel like I belonged in the talent pool I was currently a part of in Los Angeles. I wasn’t modern enough. I didn’t feel a part of that pop culture.

“That’s what Postmodern Jukebox speaks to. It speaks to people, like myself, who really feel like they were born in the wrong decade. They cling to things that are classics and retro-tastic, as they say – things that come from a completely different world.”

While Curatolo is relatively new to PMJ, she is no stranger to pop music time-tripping onstage. Her father, Paul Curatolo, is a longtime producer and performer in the Beatles tribute production “Rain.” Daughter Curatolo was also a touring member of last year’s Cirque de Soleil holiday production, “A Magical Cirque Christmas.”

“I really didn’t have a choice when it came to having music in by life. I was born with that, but I did have a choice to make a career out it. I remember when I was a kid, I watched Linda Ronstadt on television. After that, there was no question about what I wanted to do. My dad just kinda rolled his eyes. ‘Oh God, here we go.’ As a career, it has its peaks and valleys, but Postmodern Jukebox is by far the biggest peak.”

Curatolo came to PMJ as the result of an online search as opposed to an audition. She submitted a performance video (in this case, a jazz recasting of Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning”), posted it on social media and waited. There was no competition or further hoops to leap through. Bradlee took notice and enlisted her for a series of summer performances. That, in turn, opened the door for a full-length tour this fall.

“I don’t have to mold my voice to anything with PMJ,” Curatolo said. “I get to sing as me. Postmodern Jukebox requires that singers use the full functionality of their instrument, but for me, that’s great. I grew up with older classic singers. By trait, I’ve being trying emulate this music, through these teachers, to be a classic artist. This music really, really marries all of that.”

While Bradlee only sporadically performs with the touring PMJ ensembles, his brand on the music played by the touring groups is pronounced, from the vintage detail in song arrangements to the vaudevillian flair the resulting shows come wrapped in.

“Scott can take a Taylor Swift song that’s not incredibly hard and make it sound like ragtime, which is very hard. It becomes a different composition at that point. He has blueprints from Taylor Swift. But he is not only rearranging it. He’s rewriting it. As a singer, you come to the same thing internally when you deliver the song. But once Scott captures the flavor of the genre, it feels pretty easy to go along with what he delivers.”

If you go: Postmodern Jukebox

When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19

Where: Singletary Center for the Arts, 405 Rose St.

Tickets: $20-$55

Call: 859-257-4929

online: finearts.uky.edu/singletary-center, postmodernjukebox.com. (cq)