Candid
Jamie Cullum
British Singer/Songwriter Jamie Cullum is notorious for his love affair with the piano and mature sultry singing voice, although he is also pretty handy on Drums, Piano, Guitar and his favorite stage prop the "Stompbox". All of which has helped Jamie to become the biggest selling jazz artist ever.
Jamie Cullum was born on the 20th of August 1979, in Romford, London, England but was brought up in the Doomsday mentioned village of Hullavington, Wiltshire. When Jamie was still at university studying for an English literature degree, he released his first album ‘Heard It All Before’. Even though only 500 copies of the album were released, ‘Heard It All Before’ was very popular with his fans paying up to 600 pounds for a copy.
His second album ‘Pointless Nostalgic’, released in 2002, three years after his first, was taken on by Candid Records, Candid helped Cullum attain national attention, something Jamie didn’t have for his first album. In keeping with the Jazz tradition the album included covers of the classics ‘Devil May Care’, ‘Well You Needn’t’ and ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’. The success of this album won Jamie a deal with Universal who handed out a £1,000,000 contract for three Cullum albums.
With Universal backing him, JC’s next album ‘Twentysomething’, released in 2003, became Jamie’s first platinum album. The album included crossover covers from artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Buckley and even a modern take on My Fair Lady, all sprayed with a dose of Jamie’s jazz etiquette. With ‘Twentysomething’, Jamie won the rising star award at the British Jazz awards and was also nominated for British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT awards.
Jamie released his fourth album ‘Catching Tales’, worldwide in 2005. Jamie’s profile raised in stature which resulted in a 14 month tour worldwide, including 4 times around America. Jamie was nominated for best male artist and best live act at the BRIT awards in the year ‘Catching Tales’ was released. In this year, he was also nominated for artist of the year at the BBC Jazz Awards.
As a young performer, Cullum honed his skills as a live performer in pubs, clubs and hotels, from London to Paris, this experience has nurtured Cullum into an almost Dean Martinesque smooth performer. His performances involve a lot more than your average mainstream chart act; aside from serious musicianship he also incorporates beat boxing and some mesmeric rhythm tapping on the wooden panels of his piano, which all make for a more than exhilarating live show.
Even with his album and live show success, Jamie has still had time to compose original songs for Hollywood movies. His composition nearly saw him win a Golden Globe Award for best original song, after penning the title track for Clint Eastwood’s 2008 movie "Gran Torino".
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Jamie’s 2009 album "The Pursuit" is definitely his most commercial album to date with a cover version of Rhianna’s "Please don’t stop the music" and a collaboration with hip-hop producer Kay Gee on "We run things". All of which seems to have set Jamie Cullum up for the longevity in the music business that his passion and commitment to the music so dearly deserves. Jamie Cullum will be touring in 2010 with his latest album "The Pursuit".
Dean Woodhouse
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