Jamie Cullum picks Korg SV-1 for latest compositions

Jamie Cullum, the British musician responsible for helping introduce young people to jazz music has revealed how the Korg Stage Vintage Piano (SV-1) has become a key instrument of his recently.
“The SV-1 is my primary practice keyboard,” said Cullum, “so it’s the first thing my tour manager puts in my dressing room in the morning – I walk in and it’s there. Another reason for having the SV-1 back stage is that I’ve been writing a lot while on the road. I’ll be back in the studio early next year to begin recording the material I’m currently composing. I’m using the SV-1 for over three hours a day, so I actually play it more than my stage piano.”
Jamie was also keen to praise the SV-1’s key weighting, as well as the weight of the instrument itself and its easy portability. On stage, the Wavedrum is the Korg instrument most frequently played by Cullum and it has also become an important studio tool of his. “I am very fond of getting loops and drum beats going to write over,” explained Jamie, “and quite often, I start with a Wavedrum loop and improvise to a click for five minutes. It’s so creative because it speaks to the way I work, which is to improvise. You can hit almost any part of it and get a sound.”
The Microsampler is another Korg product that has caught Cullum’s attention. “I’m loving the Microsampler – it’s just ripe with possibilities. It’s an incredible little instrument. There is so much you can do with it and it’s really intuitive. I’m just getting to grips with it and contemplating the possibility of sampling strings from my album and using them for gigs.”
Source: www.mi-pro.co.uk – Adam Savage, 8th December 2010