JAZZ sensation Jamie Cullum has said he is looking forward to a few weeks off with his family for Christmas after a busy couple of months promoting his platinum selling album.

Speaking exclusively to the Gazette while on a UK tour yesterday, the 24-year-old maestro spoke about the changes in his life after the record-breaking deal in May propelled him to stardom.

Appearances on the TV show Parkinson and a spot at the Royal Variety performance have added to Mr Cullum's reputation for producing excellent live performances and made him a household name to boot.

His first album with new label Universal entitled Twentysomething stormed the charts at number five and now sits pretty at number 16, seven weeks since it was released.

Mr Cullum said it was only now that he was on the road that the extent of his success was becoming clear.

He said: "It has being going great. The album is doing really well and we are in the middle of a tour at the moment.

"The record company keep showing me numbers but being on tour is more concrete proof for me.

"I've been meeting people who own the record and have been coming to the gigs and screaming. That they know the words to the music is real to me."

Last year Mr Cullum was unknown outside the jazz scene. Now he said he is mobbed by adoring young fans and is recognised by every cabbie in London.

"'Your that jazz bloke off the TV,' they say," he said.

But Mr Cullum paid tribute to his parents, Yvonne and John, who live in Bath, as being an important influence and keeping his feet on the ground.

He said: "They have been very important to me. It has been fun but has also been hard work and I am looking forward to spending some time at home this Christmas.

"They keep helping me stay grounded which I find very useful at the moment."

His appearance at the Royal Variety Performance catapulted him into the top table of show biz celebrities.

"It was really fun to do. I met a lot of people I had wanted to meet such as Al Murray The Pub Landlord."

He was also pleased to meet FHM's sexiest woman poll winner, Rachael Stevens "for obvious reasons" and shared a dressing room with pop star Daniel Beddingfield.

But he said waking up to play at smaller venues was what he enjoyed.

"It is the people who have bought the record and like the music that I want to see at gigs," he said.

One of his next shows will be with his mother who performs with the Silver Ring Choir.

"Yes I am definitely looking forward to playing with my mum," he said.

After his current UK tour finishes on December 22 with a special concert in aid of Children in Need at Swindon, and a break over Christmas, the first single of the album, the Hendrix rock classic The Wind Cries Mary, will be released on January 5.

Mr Cullum has already made waves across in the United States by being the first European to play the renowned jazz venue, the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, for a three-week residency in September and October.

A tour of the US is planned at the beginning of the year followed by another tour in Japan. "I am really looking forward to it. I can't wait to go, it is going to be really special," said Mr Cullum.

Read about Mr Cullum's hopes for Christmas and New Year in our TV supplement free with the Gazette next week.