Because jazz just doesn’t sell itself.

The Observer, September 2003

For a few weeks in the middle of summer it was easier to see Jamie Cullum in concert than not to see him. There were phone calls, then a sample CD, then a lunch, then a publicity pack, and then another call with various options but only one outcome. 'You should really come and see him... People are just blown away, even the most cynical... The main thing is to see him play live...'

I first saw Jamie Cullum at the Pizza Express in Dean Street, Soho, one of several showcases he was playing for journalists and music industry people. He was a short 23-year-old guy in jeans and a T-shirt, swigging from a bottle of beer at lunchtime as he played jazz standards by Cole Porter, George Gershwin and a cocktail version of Radiohead's 'High and Dry'. He was hugely impressive, springing around his piano trying to make each song sound as if he wrote it that morning, hitting the wood to get a beat, plucking the piano wire with his hands, fooling with his trio as if he'd been doing it for decades. He had an interesting voice, too, deep and varied and confident enough not to lapse into an American accent. Above all you could see he was an entertainer. When he sang the line 'Some get their kicks from cocaine...', he gave a little sniff. Just before he had gone into a little scat session like he was Louis Armstrong. He wasn't like Norah Jones or Diana Krall who just sit there as if they're in a room by themselves.
Towards the end he introduced a song of his own. 'This is a tune I wrote when I was working on a cruise ship. I was playing "Moon River" to pensioners. I had just split up with my girlfriend and I was really happy about it. This is a song I came up with. It's called "All At Sea".'

The next time I saw him was a month later, when he played four songs for another lunchtime crowd at the Asda head office in Leeds. Every month, Asda holds an event where the company hands out long-term service awards and talks about sales targets, and the organisers try to get in a bit of entertainment to break things up. Louise has been up, and Gareth Gates. The record companies like this promotional slot because it gives them the chance to sell their artists to the people who sell their CDs, and as a big banner announced in the main atrium, Asda had recently assumed the second largest share of the market.

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