Jamie Cullum releases first album in five years
‘Taller’ is out today and he says it’s like nothing he’s done before
British pianist and singer Jamie Cullum releases his new album ‘Taller’ today; his eighth studio LP and his first since 2014’s ‘Interlude’. He says he feels prouder of this project than anything else in his career; it’s something that’s been brewing for nearly a decade, and a distinctive step away from his jazz-inspired work. ‘Taller’ is all original material inspired by his wife Sophie Dahl and takes influence from as diverse a range of artists as Ray Charles and The White Stripes.
Jamie says, “There’s a line in a song called ‘Endings Are Beginnings’ that is ‘I write to learn what I’m thinking’ and that sums it up pretty accurately - this album is like my working notes for life. I don’t think I’ve made music like this before. I hope you can feel the joy amongst its moments of melancholy”.
Of title track ‘Taller’, Jamie says, ‘‘Historically there has been jokes about my physical stature and being married to a taller woman. So I wanted to own it and it seemed like a great image to take, one that could be perceived as vulnerability and yet, vulnerability turning out to be a super power, rather than a weakness.’’
Jamie plays Love Supreme Festival with Jazz FM this summer (July 7th), and has also just announced a UK tour for March 2020…
9 March: Dublin, Bord Gais Energy Theatre
11 March: York, Barbican
12 March: Glasgow, Armadillo
13 March: Sheffield, City Hall
15 March: Birmingham, Symphony Hall
16 March: Oxford, New theatre
18 March: London, Palladium
20 March: Gateshead, Sage 1
23 March: Liverpool, Philharmonic
24 March: Cardiff, St David’s Hall
25 March: Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
27 March: Portsmouth, Guildhall