Jamie Cullum - FUV Live - 2015

Jamie Cullum’s latest album, Interlude, signals a change in approach for this ambitious artist. For one thing, it wasn’t initially intended to be an album at all. Choosing to finance the project himself and not telling his label, Cullum went into the studio with producer Benedic Lamdin and Lamdin's band Nostalgia 77 in January 2013, recording a collection of songs in a mere three days. That experiment evolved into Interlude. Although Cullum considers it his first album of pure jazz, Interlude does include covers of songs by Sufjan Stevens and Randy Newman. Nevertheless, the decision to dive headlong into an exploration of eclectic jazz standards is what sets this project apart from anything else Cullum has ever done.

The 35-year-old British pianist, songwriter and BBC Radio 2 host has long followed an unconventional route, influenced not only by traditional jazz and pop artists, but by '90s hip-hop and DJs like BBC dance and modern jazz guru Gilles Peterson. Cullum, who has seven albums to his name, has earned multiple Brit Award nominations, a Golden Globe nomination for his work on Clint Eastwood’s "Gran Torino" soundtrack, and last year he won the prestigious Sony Radio Academy Award as Music Broadcaster of the Year in Britain. When Cullum stopped by Studio A to play a couple of tunes and talk about the album, the ever-congenial and multi-talented songwriter explained how his nearly five-year-old radio show helped him to return to his roots, take new risks and, ultimately, renewed his creativity.

• Jamie Cullum - Live Concert at J&R Music World - 2004
• Jamie Cullum - Words & Music - 2006