Jazz is trendy in hands of Jamie

BEATS: IT’S been a long time since jazz supremo Jamie Cullum hit the road.

The 30-year-old multi-instrumentalist, who married supermodel Sophie Dahl in January, is embarking on his first UK tour since 2006. It stops off at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Monday.

The Romford musician made jazz popular all over again with hits such as “Get Your Way”, “Everlasting Love” and “I’m All Over It”.

Following a hugely successful TV appearance on “Parkinson” in 2003, Jamie signed a £1 million contract with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war.

“Twentysomething”, his first album with Universal, went platinum and became the top-selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom, helping Jamie end 2003 as the UK’s biggest selling jazz artist of all time.

During gigs, Jamie uses a stompbox to emphasise the sound of his tapping foot and is well known for putting his own slant on songs such as “Seven Nation Army” by White Stripes and “Teardrop” by Massive Attack.

He rarely uses a set list, preferring to improvise on stage and can often be found beatboxing between numbers.

Jamie, who has been nominated for several BRIT Awards over the years, is credited for taking the jazz genre up a notch by performing at festivals such as Glastonbury, Coachella and South by Southwest.