Jamie Cullum - The Pianoman at Christmas

Jamie Cullum is back at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 11 December, playing The Pianoman at Christmas. It's a return to a venue he's played before, and the title gives the night away: it's his Christmas show, so expect the festive set he's known for.

If you're not familiar with the name, Cullum is a self-taught singer-songwriter and pianist who made a career of bringing jazz standards and covers to a wider audience by mixing them with contemporary pop. He started out on his own, producing his 1999 debut Heard It All Before for less than £500, and then hit a much larger stage with his 2003 major-label debut Twentysomething — a Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum album that helped make him the UK's biggest-selling jazz artist of all time. On stage, he plays piano, drums, guitar and percussion, and he sings, fronting a live band that works through his own songs alongside the jazz standards he loves.

There's a fair bit of ground he's covered since those early records. His 2009 album The Pursuit brought together different worlds and included the Golden Globe-nominated theme for Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. In 2019, Taller drew partly on the height difference between him and his wife, and included 'The Age of Anxiety', which earned him an Ivor Novello award, as well as material inspired by texts sent by Amy Winehouse, who supported him on his first tour. He's played the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Royal Albert Hall before, so this is a return to familiar ground.

Doors open at 18:45 and the night runs until 23:00. Tickets are £95.12 for the Centre Stalls, £90.00 for the Side Stalls, £84.88 for Arena Standing, £69.55 for the Central Rausing Circle, £38.89 for the Rausing Circle Restricted View, and £52.52 for the Choir.