Jamie Cullum
| Jamie Cullum | |
|---|---|
Cullum performing in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Born |
20 August 1979 Rochford, Essex, England |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, jazz-pop, swing |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Singing, piano |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Lioness, UCJ, Candid, Decca, Verve, Verve Forecast, Deckdisc |
| Website | www |
Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Although he is primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has presented a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2.
Cullum was born in Rochford, Essex, but was brought up in Hullavington, north of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
His Jewish father, whose mother had managed to flee Nazi Germany, was born in Jerusalem. His mother, whose father was Indian and mother Burmese, was born in Burma; when the Japanese invaded, the family left Burma and moved to Wales, with his mother aged five.
Cullum produced his first album, Jamie Cullum Trio—Heard it All Before, with only £480. It was released in 1999 with only 500 copies made. Due to their rarity, original copies have sold for as much as £600 on eBay. The success of the album led to an invitation to Cullum to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs of the Summer.
After graduating from Reading University, Cullum released his best-selling album, Pointless Nostalgic, which stirred interest from Michael Parkinson and Melvyn Bragg.
Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's second 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.
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 from Miles Davis to Tom Waits and many more. Cullum has belonged to several bands, ranging from banging drums in a hip hop group to playing guitar in rock bands such as Raw Sausage and The Mystery Machine, in his teenage youth. Cullum names his elder brother, Ben Cullum, as his biggest musical influence, and the two continue to collaborate extensively.
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