Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullumis an English jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Although he is primarily a vocalist/pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionJazz Singer
Date of Birth20 August 1979
discovered original people playing pop standard tend vh1
Most people in the U.K. discovered me playing a standard on Parkinson. In America, it was on VH1 singing an original called 'All At Sea,' which is a contemporary pop song. So the people that know me there tend to think of me in the singer/songwriter category.
love-is playing-music pure-love
My pure love is playing music.
amazing amy bad bands both funk karaoke members playing sing singer tried west worst
I tried to sing 'What's Going On' with Amy Winehouse once at an old cinema in the West End. There was a funk band that had members of both of our bands playing in it, but it was the worst kind of place to sing bad karaoke because everyone there was an amazing singer or musician.
best damage friend grew guitar lover pianos playing prize relationship worship
I worship pianos like they are prize diamonds, and I never willfully do damage to them. But I grew up playing guitars, and you treat a guitar like a best friend or a little brother or a lover you have a tempestuous relationship with.
playing supposed
I never use a piano stool. I always use a drum stool. Because I feel that when you're down there, you're playing in that way you're supposed to. I like to be above it.
deal kinds life obviously people record
What's interesting is often people think life changes when you have a record deal and you do all kinds of stuff. Obviously your life changes, but nothing changes your life like getting married and having kids.
decorate marking million prefer records sold
Some musicians like to decorate their walls with discs saying: '1 million records sold in America.' I prefer to put up discs marking sales in lesser-known countries.
dad definitely died early filtered gene met
My grandfather, Harry, died when my dad was in his early 20s, so I never met him. Amazingly, he was 6ft tall. That gene definitely never filtered down to me!
army bowls british chicken ended feet jewish lots met nightclub refugee soup
My grandmother on my father's side, a nightclub singer, was a Jewish refugee from Prussia who ended up in Jerusalem, where she met my grandfather - a British army officer. I remember as a child having bowls of chicken soup made by her. There were lots of interesting components, like feet and necks.
classical discourage
When I was at school, I wanted to play a piano, and they said, 'No, that's for the classical students.' There's always been this air around pianos, which can very often discourage a young person from having a go.
complex deeper emotion great happiness intensity manages paradox proud sad state understanding
'm really proud of 'Sad, Sad World' because it manages to state a very complex paradox of an emotion that I experienced when I had children, which is this great happiness and this great intensity, but with that intensity comes a deeper understanding of the world.
beautiful believe intense kids life past
One of the beautiful things about having kids is I had no idea how much it will make you look into yourself and who you are and what you believe in and what your past was like and all that kind of stuff. I think it's made me really look at life in a much more intense way.
paper trouble plenty
I get into plenty of trouble. It just doesn't seem to get picked up by the papers.
magic looks ordinary
When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life, I see so much magic, though I missed it at the time.