The promise of New York inspired me when I was starting out as a musician. I used to read about famous jazz venues like the Village Vanguard so it was amazing to visit them. I’ve played Carnegie Hall, which was utterly surreal – Bob Dylan and Ella Fitzgerald have both stood on the same spot.
One of my most memorable gigs was in a strip joint in Moscow. It wasn’t until the second song when a burlesque dancer came out that I realised that I wasn’t in a jazz club. I played lots of wrong notes that night.
There are so many great cities for live music but the place that gets my vote is Austin in Texas. There are such amazing bands playing everywhere – you’ll find Metallica performing in one bar and a fantastic unsigned band in the next.
I love old-school hotels. My favourite is Le Meurice in Paris because it’s charming and everything is totally seamless.
The monkeys in Bali are scary. They’re quite bold and look as though they’re going to scratch your face at any minute. That aside, the country is incredible and very spiritual. I spent a couple of days relaxing on the beach but I also visited the temples and markets. Bali certainly lives up to its reputation.
My grandfather was from India and I would love to go. It looks like such a beautiful country. It’s long been a dream of mine to visit the city of Jaipur.
I randomly bumped into a famous South African rapper while walking around Johannesburg. We’d never heard of each other but I invited him along to my show and he ended up jumping on stage and rapping. I love it when things like that happen. Annoyingly, I’ve forgotten his name.
My childhood holidays were always spent in Cornwall. My family would go to Looe to have ice cream on the beach and play the arcade machines.
Listen on board Jamie Cullum’s latest album The Pursuit is playing on selected flights. His UK tour starts on 7 May in Glasgow. For details, visit jamiecullum.com.
