Jamie Cullum brings his own Christmas songbook and his big band back to the Royal Albert Hall, where the show has become an annual fixture of the season.
Jamie Cullum, who made his name with an independent jazz debut at 24, brings his big band to the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington on Thursday 10 December 2026. The London group Kansas Smitty’s joins him.
That debut, Twentysomething, came out in 2003 and treated the American songbook and pop covers as living material. Eight more albums followed, along with a long-running radio show built on introducing listeners to music outside the mainstream.
The Pianoman at Christmas came out in 2020, an album of original Christmas songs written to sound like standards and recorded with a big band. Its songs include “Beautiful Together”, “Christmas Don’t Let Me Down” and “Hang Your Lights”.
The show has become an annual fixture at the Royal Albert Hall. This year it runs over two nights, closing on Friday 11 December.
Kansas Smitty’s play on the deluxe edition of the album. They are the kind of act his radio show has spent 15 years putting in front of people who would not otherwise find them.