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Jamie Cullum (born August 20, 1979) is an English jazz/pop pianist and singer-songwriter.
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.
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