He dances on the keys, beats out rhythms on the strings inside and lies under the grand piano hammering on the instrument's belly. The energy of the singer/pianist Jamie Cullum is incredible. Even though he considered studying English literature 'interesting', the biggest hype in jazz since Norah Jones, chose, after finishing his studies, to become a fulltime musician. He played at parties, in bars and on cruise ships. Three years ago he released a self-produced and distributed album to sell to his fans after his shows. The demo that followed, caught the attention of Candid Records and Cullum was given the opportunity to record a CD. Pointless Nostalgic, promoted by the popular presenter Michael Parkinson, sold like mad. Immediately afterwards the major companies went to war to win this 24-year-old musical wonderboy, a battle that was won by Universal Music. The outcome: Twentysomething - a hit album.
