What is Jamie Cullum's Net Worth?
Jamie Cullum is an English jazz-pop singer-songwriter and radio presenter who has a net worth of $8 million. Since independently releasing his debut album "Heard It All Before" in 1999, Jamie Cullum has released such studio albums as "Twentysomething," "Catching Tales," "Momentum," "Taller," and "The Pianoman at Christmas." As a radio presenter, Cullum hosts a weekly Tuesday evening jazz show on BBC Radio 2.
Early Life and Education
Jamie Cullum was born on August 20, 1979 in Rochford, Essex, England, and was raised in Hullavington, Wiltshire. He is of Jewish Israeli descent on his father's side and of Indian and Burmese descent on his mother's side. Cullum was educated at Grittleton House School and then at Sheldon School. He went on to attend the University of Reading, where he studied English literature and film.
Music Career
With no record deal and only £480, Cullum produced his debut album, "Heard It All Before," in 1999. Only 500 copies of the album were made. Cullum went on to sign a contract with Candid Records, through which he released the album "Pointless Nostalgic" in 2002. This drew the attention of broadcaster Michael Parkinson, who had Cullum on his television talk show in 2003. After that, Cullum signed a three-album contract with Universal Music Group. He subsequently released his third album, "Twentysomething," a mix of jazz standards, ballads, and contemporary covers. It was Cullum's commercial breakthrough, becoming the best-selling jazz album of all time in the United Kingdom and selling 2.5 million copies worldwide. "Twentysomething" went on to earn a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Cullum's next album was "Catching Tales," which reached number one on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart upon its release in 2005. Four years later, Cullum released "The Pursuit" in the UK; it was released in the US and Canada in 2010. The album features the song "Gran Torino," which was written in collaboration with Clint Eastwood for his film of the same name.
Cullum released his sixth studio album, "Momentum," in 2013. It includes covers of such songs as "Love for Sale" and "Pure Imagination." Cullum next released "Interlude," which came out in 2014 in the UK and early 2015 in the US. Composed entirely of jazz covers, it features tracks written by Ray Charles, Sufjan Stevens, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others. "Interlude" peaked at number three on the Top Jazz Albums chart. Cullum went on to release the album "Taller" in 2019. That was followed in 2020 by "The Pianoman at Christmas," which features original Christmas songs. In addition to his recordings, Cullum has played at numerous music festivals around the world, including the Montreux Jazz Festival; the Glastonbury Festival; the Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival; Coachella; South by Southwest; the Montreal International Jazz Festival; and the Monterey Jazz Festival. In the spring of 2016, he played at the White House in Washington, DC as part of the International Jazz Day Global Concert.
(Photo by Juan Naharro Gimenez/WireImage)
Radio and Television
In 2010, Cullum began presenting a weekly Tuesday evening jazz show on BBC Radio 2. A couple years later, on BBC Radio 4, he performed live in-studio on the program "Desert Island Discs." Cullum has also made some appearances on television over the years, including in an episode of the ITV period drama "The Halcyon" in 2017.
PizzaExpress Contest
Due to his history with the British pizza restaurant chain PizzaExpress, where he performed frequently early in his career, Cullum launched a contest in collaboration with PizzaExpress in 2011. The contest gave burgeoning singers, songwriters, and musicians the chance to perform for a cash prize and a residency at the chain's Dean Street Jazz Club. Out of 7,500 acts that entered, the winner was Offbeat South, an urban group from Croydon.
Personal Life
In early 2010, Cullum married English author and former fashion model Sophie Dahl, the granddaughter of author Roald Dahl. They have two daughters named Lyra and Margot, and reside in Buckinghamshire.
