Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979)[1] is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one live album and twenty-four singles. Since April 2010, he has presented a weekly Tuesday evening jazz show on BBC Radio 2.[2]
Cullum's Jewish father, whose own mother had fled Nazi Germany, was born in Jerusalem. His mother's father was Indian and her mother was born in Burma. Following the Japanese invasion, the family left Burma and moved to Wales, when his mother was aged five.[3]
Cullum produced his first album, Heard It All Before, with only £480. It was released in 1999, with only 500 copies made.[10] The success of the album led to an invitation to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs of the Summer.[11]
Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson, in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract[13] for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's third studio album, Twentysomething, released in October 2003, went platinum and became the No.1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Cullum ended 2003 as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time.[13]
Although primarily a jazz musician, Cullum performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a "crossover" artist, with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum draws his inspiration from many different musicians and listens to an eclectic mix of music including Miles Davis.[14]
A stomp box made from a small wooden block (not to be confused with an effect pedal for guitars) features in Cullum's concerts. The box is used to amplify a musician's tapping foot. Cullum found this in Melbourne, Australia and uses it to enhance upbeat and fast-paced songs such as "Seven Nation Army", originally by The White Stripes, and "Gold Digger", originally by Kanye West. He also often uses a looping machine; this plays a major part in Cullum's versions of "Seven Nation Army" and "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. Cullum also beatboxes at most gigs.
The song as recorded by Cullum ("It Ain't Necessarily So") is also used in the film The Anatomy of Hate; A Dialogue to Hope by Mike Ramsdell.
Twentysomething
Recorded at London's Mayfair Studios and released in 2003, Twentysomething contains a mix of jazz standards, contemporary covers, and ballads. Due to the acoustic nature of the music, producer Stewart Levine chose to record and mix Twentysomething entirely on analogue tape.
Catching Tales has been released on double vinyl, as was the first single, "Get Your Way". A limited edition version of the "Get Your Way" single was released on red vinyl.
Cullum toured in support of Catching Tales from the end of October 2005 to December 2006.
The Pursuit
In June 2009, Cullum announced the title of his fourth studio album, The Pursuit. The album, which was released on 10 November 2009, was produced by Greg Wells,[18] and the first single was "I'm All Over It",[19] written with Deacon Blue frontman, Ricky Ross.
The Pursuit was recorded in a variety of places: Cullum's kitchen, a studio in L.A. and Terrified Studios (his own in Shepherd's Bush, London). Various musicians were used in the recording process. Songs recorded in L.A. mostly used session musicians and saw Wells and Cullum play various instruments including drums and bass. "Don't Stop The Music", the second single from the album (released as a download only in January 2010)[20] was recorded with Chris Hill and Brad Webb. The track "Gran Torino", written in collaboration with Clint Eastwood, was used as the title track of Eastwood's 2008 movie of the same name[21] and was nominated for the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[22]
From 2003 to 2008, Cullum played consistently with Geoff Gascoyne on bass, and Sebastiaan de Krom on drums. From 2003 until 2004 the trio was joined by Ben Castle on saxophone, John Hoare on trumpet, Barnaby Dickinson on trombone and Malcolm MacFarlane on guitar. Sam Wedgwood (guitarist, bassist and trumpeter) later joined Cullum on tour, for a little over a year. At the end of 2005 Cullum was joined by Tom Richards (saxophonist, occasional guitarist and percussion). Soon after that Sam Wedgwood left to pursue his own solo musical career. At the beginning of 2006 Rory Simmons (trumpeter and guitarist) joined the band as a replacement, bringing the total number of band members (including Cullum himself) to five.
In late 2009, Cullum replaced Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Sebastiaan de Krom (drums) with Chris Hill (bass) and Brad Webb (drums).
Momentum
Jamie Cullum's album Momentum was released on 20 May 2013. In conjunction with the album, he performed six intimate gigs across Europe; the first was in London.[23]
In an interview with NBHAP, Cullum said that Momentum is about the crossover period from being a young man while having one foot in the adult world, and about the balance of childish fantasies with grand and epic responsibilities.[24]
Interlude
Interlude is an album consisting of jazz covers, released on 6 October 2014. Recorded with producer Benedic Lamdin of big band Nostalgia 77, and recorded in one take, the album was influenced by Cullum's BBC Radio 2 weekly jazz show. The duets on the album include two acts for which Cullum's radio show acted as a springboard for mainstream success: Laura Mvula featured on the track "Good Morning Heartache", and Gregory Porter on the lead single "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".
Available in standard and deluxe versions, the latter including a DVD of Cullum's full performance at Jazz à Vienne, and an exclusive photo booklet containing tour and studio pictures.[25]
To celebrate the launch of his first pure jazz album, Cullum played at several jazz clubs, including Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, and London's Ronnie Scott's.
In February 2017, Cullum revealed he was working on his next studio album Taller, following the release of its first single "Work of Art" on 17 February.[28]
Recent work
In July 2020, Cullum released the single "Don't Give Up on Me" on the Island Records label.[29][30]
Awards
The British Jazz Awards recognised Cullum's growing success by awarding him the "Rising Star" award, at the 2003 ceremony in July.[13] At the 2004 BRIT Awards, Cullum was nominated in the British Breakthrough Act category. He performed a live duet with Katie Melua of The Cure's "The Lovecats" during the ceremony at Earl's Court. At the 2005 BRIT Awards, Cullum was nominated for two awards: Best Male Artist and Best Live Act. In 2005, Cullum was nominated for a Grammy. He was named the BBC Radio 2's Artist of the Year honors at the BBC Jazz Awards (as voted by listeners of Radio 2).
Cullum's early music career saw him playing three or four times a week at PizzaExpress's restaurants throughout London, gaining exposure and later his big break with Universal. In 2011 the "Pizza Express Big Audition with Jamie Cullum" competition gave singers, songwriters and musicians a platform and a chance to win a £5,000 prize and a residency at the restaurant chain's Dean Street Jazz Club. 7,500 acts entered the competition and the final, held at the Addison's Rooms in Kensington on 23 November, was judged by Cullum, Michael Parkinson, M People's Heather Small and other music critics. The winning act was Offbeat South, an urban group of 18- to 21-year-olds from Croydon.[32]
Cullum first met his future wife at a charity concert where she performed a song.[36] He married the English author and former model Sophie Dahl in a private ceremony in Hampshire on 9 January 2010.[37] Their daughter was born in 2011[38] and their second daughter was born in 2013.[39]
In 2011, a portrait of Cullum, painted by artist Joe Simpson, was exhibited around the UK, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Hall.[40]
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Catching Tales is the fourth album by Jamie Cullum. It was released in late September 2005 in the United Kingdom and a few weeks later in the United States.
Twentysomething is the third studio album by English singer Jamie Cullum. It was released on 20 October 2003 in Europe, and in May 2004 in the United States. The album has sold 2.5 million copies worldwide, and achieved eleven platinum, eleven gold and two silver certifications. It is the fastest-selling jazz album in chart history and its sales led to Cullum ending 2003 as the UK's highest-selling jazz artist in history.
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Jamie Alexander Treays, better known by his stage name Jamie T, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, guitarist and record producer from Wimbledon, South London.
Sam Duckworth is an English musician who performs as Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. He is also sometimes referred to as Get Cape, Cape, GCWCF and Slam Dunkworth. According to Duckworth, his original stage name came from Retro Gamer magazine, from an article about superhero games such as Batman containing the heading "Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly", although a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon by Bill Watterson has also been cited. In addition to the Get Cape name, and his given name, Duckworth has released music under the moniker Recreations.
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It was released worldwide on September 7, 2007, as the album's fourth single by Def Jam Recordings. The song was written by Tawanna Dabney and its producers StarGate. Michael Jackson also received a songwriting credit for the sampling of the line "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-koosa" from Jackson's 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Both Rihanna and Jackson were sued by Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, who asserted that the hook originated in his 1972 song "Soul Makossa". "Don't Stop the Music" is a dance track that features rhythmic devices used primarily in hip hop music.
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The Pursuit is the fifth studio album by Jamie Cullum. It was released on 9 November 2009 in the United Kingdom, and released in the United States and Canada on 2 March 2010. It was produced by Greg Wells and Martin Terefe, and mixed by Greg Wells, Thomas Juth and Ryan Hewitt. The album's title is taken from the novel The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. The album was recorded at a Los Angeles studio using songs that Cullum originally recorded at his Shepherd's Bush recording studio, Terrified Studios. The song "Mixtape" features Sophie Dahl on backing vocals.
The discography of Jamie Cullum, a British pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, consists of nine studio albums, four compilation albums, one live album, 32 singles, and 15 music videos.
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This is a summary of 2010 in music in the United Kingdom.
Momentum is the sixth studio album by English jazz-pop singer Jamie Cullum. It was released on 20 May 2013 by Island Records and is produced by Dan the Automator and Jim Abbiss. The album includes covers of "Love for Sale" and Anthony Newley's "Pure Imagination". The song "You're Not the Only One" was written about Cullum's experience serving as a judge on the television reality series Must Be the Music.
Derek Nash is a British jazz saxophonist, band leader, arranger and recording engineer.
Interlude is the seventh studio album by Jamie Cullum. It was released on 6 October 2014 in the UK and 27 January 2015 in the US through Island Records, a division of Universal Music. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Benedic Lamdin for Nostalgia 77.
Taller is the eighth studio album by British jazz musician Jamie Cullum, released through Island Records on 7 June 2019.
The Pianoman at Christmas is the ninth studio album by British jazz musician Jamie Cullum, released through Island on 20 November 2020. The album peaked at number eleven on the UK Albums Chart.
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