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| Jamie Cullum |
|
| Background information |
| Born |
August 20, 1979 (1979-08-20) (age 27) |
| Origin |
 Essex, England |
| Genre(s) |
Jazz
Pop
Crossover |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) |
Piano, Guitar, Stomp Box |
| Years active |
1999–present |
| Label(s) |
MCA
Music, Inc/Verve |
| Website |
Official
website |
Jamie Cullum (born August 20, 1979) is an English jazz/pop pianist and singer-songwriter.
|
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Awards
- 3 Catching
Tales
- 4 Plans
for 2007 and beyond
- 5 Other
Band Members
- 6 Trivia
- 7 Discography
- 7.1 Albums
- 7.2 Collaborations
Featured On Other Albums
- 7.3 DVDs
- 7.4 Singles
- 8 External
links
|
Biography
Cullum was born at Rochford hospital in Essex. His mother,
Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin, whose family
settled in Wales
after Burma's
de-colonization;
his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British
Army officer, while his paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee
from Prussia
who sang in Berlin
nightclubs; Cullum sees her as his "cultural icon". He was raised in Hullavington,
Wiltshire
but currently lives in North West London.
Cullum released his first album, Jamie Cullum
Trio—Heard it All Before, in 1999. A mere 500 copies were made. Original
copies have sold for as much as £600 (and above) on eBay. The success of Heard
It All Before resulted in Jamie being invited to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs
of the Summer. After graduating from the University
of Reading in 2001
(with a 1st), Cullum - who is completely self-taught, bar a few piano
lessons as a youngster - released a best-selling album, Pointless
Nostalgic, which stirred interest from Michael
Parkinson and Melvyn Bragg. Following that, in April 2003 he signed a
contract with Universal, for three albums,
who beat Sony in a bidding war.
Cullum then started recording his third album, Twentysomething,
in May of 2003, which was released in October 2003. It went platinum
and became the #1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United
Kingdom.
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 a very eclectic mix of
music from Miles Davis to Tom Waits
and many more. Cullum has been part of quite a long list of 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 brother as his biggest musical influence and
claims he would not be making music if it wasn't for Ben
Cullum.
Jamie Cullum is well known, not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for
his unique entertainment style and charisma. One of the many things
that features in Jamie's concerts is the "stompbox" (not to be confused
with an effect
pedal for guitars), made from a small wooden block. The stompbox is
used to amplify
a musician's tapping foot. Jamie found this in 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 is also often found using a looping machine. This plays a
heavy part in Cullum's versions of Seven
Nation Army and Teardrop by Massive
Attack. Cullum is also often found beatboxing
at nearly every gig.
Numerous reviews have cited Cullum's gigs as indescribable,
but most agree it's an eclectic experience. Not only does Cullum play
songs from his albums, but nearly every concert will see Cullum cover
something out of the ordinary. As previously mentioned he has been
known to cover White Stripes, Kanye West
as well as the likes of Massive Attack, Pussycat
Dolls, Gnarls Barkley, Elton
John, Justin Timberlake, John
Legend, Joy Division and many others.
Jamie's show are a forever evolving experience. No two gigs are the
same and some avid fans prove this point by going to multiple shows in
the same week. Cullum rarely works to a set list and on average his
gigs last two and a half hours. Instead of a setlist he plays what he
feels like and the gigs are improvised, meaning the shows are rooted in
jazz even if
the music doesn't always sound like it.
Cullum has played at many large music festivals, including Glastonbury
Festival 2004, Coachella
2005, 2006 South
by Southwest, North Sea Jazz Festival and
the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival. On the
29th of April 2006 Cullum played his biggest ever crowd on Queensday in
The
Netherlands. Jamie gave a 45 minute performance for 180,000 people who
crowded around the massive stage in Amsterdam, Museum Square. As a tribute to The
Netherlands, Cullum wore a shirt from the Dutch Artist Anouk and orange
Converse.
Awards
The British Jazz Awards first recognised Cullum's growing
success by awarding him the "Rising Star" award, at the 2003 ceremony
in July. At the 2004 BRIT Awards, Cullum was
nominated in the "British Breakthrough Act" category. He performed live
in the ceremony at Earl's Court, a duet with Katie
Melua of The Cure's "Love Cats". In the 2005
BRIT Awards, Cullum was nominated for two awards: "Best Male Artist"
and "Best Live Act". In 2005 Cullum was nominated for a prestigious Grammy award and,
in the same year, went on to win yet another award at the BBC Jazz
Awards, this time scooping BBC Radio 2 "Artist Of The Year", as
voted for by listeners of Radio 2. In 2007 Cullum won the Ronnie Scotts
Jazz Award for "Best British Male".
Catching Tales
Cullum's third major label album, entitled Catching
Tales, was released on September
26, 2005, in
the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, and two weeks later
in the United States, on October 11.
The American and French versions of Catching
Tales do not feature Fascinating
Rhythm, unlike the European version which does.
The first single to be released from the album, in the United
Kingdom, was "Get Your Way", a collaboration with Dan
The Automator which used a sample from the Thad Jones
song 'Get Out Of My Life, Woman'. The second single released, in the
United Kingdom and the Netherlands, was "Mind Trick", a funky and
catchy track written by Jamie and. his brother. Ben
Cullum. The third single released from the album was the
self-penned track "Photograph." Cullum has said it was written on New
Years Day (2005) after he found a box of photographs that reminded him
of how special his youth was, despite the fact it didn't seem it at the
time.
A special edition version of Catching
Tales is also available in Europe, featuring an
exclusive 20 minute documentary, including behind the scenes footage of
Jamie recording the album and on the road footage, from across Europe.
It also features a 28-page booklet containing exclusive photos, Jamie
rarities, extended liner notes plus a track-by-track introduction from
the man himself. Catching Tales
has also been released on double vinyl, as was the first single, "Get
Your Way."
Catching Tales
was to feature a collaboration with Pharrell
Williams. Cullum and Williams recorded various songs together and it
was thought that the track titled 'Wifey' would make an appearance on Catching
Tales. Unfortunately, due to publishing laws, it ended up being taken
off the album. Usher recorded a version of the
song "Wifey", which was released on a special Japanese import of Pharrell
Williams album. After much paper shuffling Jamie's vocals finally
featured on Pharrell Williams's debut solo
album, on a track titled "You Can Do It Too". It is such a small part
that Jamie is not even credited as a 'featured' artist.
The album Catching Tales
was produced by Stewart Levine, who also produced Twentysomething.
Cullum toured Catching Tales
from the end of October 2005 to December 2006. Playing gigs in places
such as: Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, South America,
South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Spain, Portugal, as
well as returning to America no less than four times in one year, to
tour extensively across the USA.
Plans for 2007 and beyond
For 2007 Cullum is taking a break from touring by writing new
music, collaborating with various musicians, making a new album, as
well as enjoying some well deserved time off, at home. Cullum has said
to be pursuing another musical project with his brother Ben,
originally rumoured to be released at the beginning of 2007 but it
later got postponed. Currently the release date is unknown.
On the collaboration front, in March and July 2007 Cullum
played "private" unannounced gigs with brother Ben Cullum, Davide de
Rose and John Hoare, at The Sun and Doves bar and gallery in
Camberwell, London SE5, as part of 'Headhunters on Coldharbour Lane' an
on going experimental live music project. This line-up is also
appearing at Womad Charlton Park 2007, as BC
& JC. The title of these Sunday night gigs references Herbie
Hancock's 1973 seminal Jazz Funk album of the same name. Hoare and De
Rose (of Elettrorganica) front a changing line up of skilled musicians
under the guise 'John's Hoares'. The unclassifiable New Jazz showcase
began March 2007 to promote purely spontaneous, improvised music that
draws from a rich tradition of Jazz but cross references with
contemporary House, Break Beat, Hip Hop, Rap, Funk, Soul and
Electronica. Jamie and Ben enjoy being able to play without constraint
alongside John and Dave in an intimate venue to a wholly attentive and
appreciative audience.
You can also catch Jamie Cullum making his orchestral debut
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday, July
20th and Saturday, July 21st.
Other Band Members
Since 2003 Cullum has played consistently with Geoff Gascoyne,
on bass, and Sebastiaan De Krom, on drums. In 2004 Sam Wedgwood
(guitarist and trumpeter) 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 afterwards Sam
Wedgwood left, to pursue his own career. At the beginning of 2006 Rory
Simmons (trumpeter and guitarist) joined the band as a replacement.
Other people who have played with Jamie include saxophonist
Ben Castle (son of Roy Castle who currently plays in his own
band and also for Beth Rowley and others) and John Hoare (currently
playing in the John Hoare Quartet).
Trivia
- Jamie is an avid Swindon Town fan and when he is
visiting his parents home, in Bath, he is often found watching his
team from the stands at the County Ground, although he also supports Liverpool
FC.
- Jamie played the part of DJ English Hughie in the computer
game, The Movies.
- Jamie has a piano in his kitchen.
- In April 2007, Jamie began presenting a weekly programme on
theJazz
radio station.
- Jamie's mother, Yvonne, sings in Silver Ring Choir which
has toured places such as Australia and New Zealand.
- Jamie attended high school at Grittleton House School and
sixth form at Sheldon School. Both are near Chippenham.
- Jamie turned down a place at Oxford
University to read Modern History.
- Jamie has broken five pianos, in total, on tour and during
tv performances.
- Jamie's favourite author is Paul
Auster.
- Jamie is 5ft 4 inches high and takes a size UK 7 shoe.
- Jamie was given an Audi TT for free, which he then gave away in
a prize draw, on his official website.
- Jamie has a distinctive and ornate autograph,
in which he incorporates piano keys. Often Jamie will also date the
signature.
- Jamie is a big fan of Apple Computers. He owns a 15" MacBook
Pro, which he takes on tour and at home he has a 30" Apple
Cinema Display monitor with a Power Mac G5, in his loft studio.
- In his youth Jamie worked as a petrol pump attendant, in a
camera shop and, for a couple of weeks, at the Dyson
factory.
- Together with his elder brother, Ben
Cullum, Jamie wrote the music for a West
End stage version of When Harry Met Sally....
- He is a noted user of Sibelius composition software
Discography
Albums
- Heard It All Before
(1999)
- Pointless Nostalgic
(2002) #55 UK
- Twentysomething
(2003) #3 UK,
#83 US, #2 Australia
- Catching Tales
(2005) #4 UK,
#49 US, #26 Australia, #30 Germany, #1 Mexico
- Live at
Ronnie Scott's (2006) (exclusive for iTunes)
Collaborations Featured On Other
Albums
- Greatest Mistake with John Oates on White
People by Handsome Boy Modeling
School
- Bittersweet with Relax on Puppets Among Pirates
- Sky High with King James on MySpace (unreleased track)
- One For My Baby with Toots
Thielemans on One More For The Road
- To... with Geoff Gascoyne on Songs Of The Summer
- God Only Knows and Love Won't Let Me Wait with Geoff
Gascoyne on Keep it to yourself
- Sweet Insomnia with Gwyneth Herbert on First Songs
- The Road Less Travelled with Clare
Teal on The Road Less Travelled
- You Can Do It Too with Pharrell
Williams on In My Mind
DVDs
- Live at Blenheim Palace (2004)
- Telling Tales (2005) - with Catching
Tales Special Edition
Singles
From Pointless Nostalgia:
From Twentysomething:
- "All At Sea" (2003) Promotional Release
- "These Are the Days"/"Frontin'" (2004) #12 UK
- "Everlasting Love" (2004) #20 UK,
#35 Netherlands
From Catching Tales:
- "Get Your Way" (2005) #44 UK, #25 Netherlands
- "Mind Trick" (2005) #32 UK, #26 Netherlands
- "Photograph" (2006)
External links
