Jamie Cullum Uses C5 to Capture Distinct Sound
BUENA PARK, Calif. British singer/pianist and Yamaha artist Jamie Cullum is known for updated arrangements of jazz standards, unconventional cover tunes, and his own distinctive compositions. On his major-label debut, 2003's Twentysomething, and 2005's Catching Tales, Cullum combines a crooner's sensibility with a smart, and sometimes acerbic, lyric sense, moving effortlessly from neo-retro mood music to smart-guy pop.
Cullum has a Yamaha C5 conservatory grand piano in his studio, and he tours with one as well. "I prefer a slightly smaller grand like the C5 because I play so hard, almost in a rock manner," he explains. "Sometimes it's difficult to be heard when the piano is so big, especially the bottom end. I love the touch of Yamaha pianos not too light, not too soft, not too hard. They're real road warriors, too. They stay in tune. And wherever I go in the world, whatever country I'm in, I always know what I'm getting because the Yamaha pianos are so consistent. With other manufacturers, the quality can run across the board and they never stay in tune for the length of the gig!"
Even with an ambitious touring schedule, Cullum considers himself lucky to be traveling the world. He has played everything from stand-up rock venues to sit-down theaters to pop and blues festivals. In fact, Cullum may be the first artist on record to play both the storied Newport Jazz Festival and Coachella, Southern California's sprawling rock blowout.
"Sometimes when you're sitting up there with a piano, people expect it to be a sit-down kind of thing, but there's a lot of music I play that you can groove and jump around to. I like to work outside of people's expectations."
Nowhere does Cullum work outside those expectations more than in his startling arrangements of classic songs. Only Cullum could imagine Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" as an up-tempo, Mose Allison-style jive number or a funky, second-line version of "I Could Have Danced All Night."
As clever as these interpretations are, Cullum insists they evolved without deliberation. "I don't sit down with a big list of songs and think, 'right, what am I going to cover today?' Normally I don't even end up choosing the songs they just turn up in my consciousness and wind up under my fingers one day. The first time I played Radiohead's "High and Dry" for example, was on a gig, without any kind of warning. The songs choose you, rather than you choosing them."
Audiences around the world will have a chance to hear Cullum's unique style as he continues his extensive touring to support Catching Tales. Look for Cullum dates everywhere from the U.S. to Japan to Europe between now and this fall.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9926, or email infostation@yamaha.com.
About Yamaha:
Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products, customer-driven support products and computer-based products targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.
 Yamaha Piano Artist Jamie Cullum Photo Credit: Pat Pope |
Even with an ambitious touring schedule, Cullum considers himself lucky to be traveling the world. He has played everything from stand-up rock venues to sit-down theaters to pop and blues festivals. In fact, Cullum may be the first artist on record to play both the storied Newport Jazz Festival and Coachella, Southern California's sprawling rock blowout.
"Sometimes when you're sitting up there with a piano, people expect it to be a sit-down kind of thing, but there's a lot of music I play that you can groove and jump around to. I like to work outside of people's expectations."
Nowhere does Cullum work outside those expectations more than in his startling arrangements of classic songs. Only Cullum could imagine Jimi Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary" as an up-tempo, Mose Allison-style jive number or a funky, second-line version of "I Could Have Danced All Night."
As clever as these interpretations are, Cullum insists they evolved without deliberation. "I don't sit down with a big list of songs and think, 'right, what am I going to cover today?' Normally I don't even end up choosing the songs they just turn up in my consciousness and wind up under my fingers one day. The first time I played Radiohead's "High and Dry" for example, was on a gig, without any kind of warning. The songs choose you, rather than you choosing them."
Audiences around the world will have a chance to hear Cullum's unique style as he continues his extensive touring to support Catching Tales. Look for Cullum dates everywhere from the U.S. to Japan to Europe between now and this fall.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622, telephone (714) 522-9926, or email infostation@yamaha.com.
About Yamaha:
Yamaha Corporation of America manufactures a complete line of musical instruments, professional audio products, customer-driven support products and computer-based products targeted to both the amateur and professional markets.
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