“As a kid I’d fall asleep underneath the table at a cabaret”, Callum Gillies laughed from his office, the proton beam therapy centre at UCLH in central London.
He is the son of one of Jersey’s most beloved song-and-dance men, Stuart Gillies, who rose to Island icon status as “the singing coach driver” in the 1960s.
Scotland-born Stuart didn’t limit himself to coaches; he also built himself a reputation as a cruise ship singer par excellence, and used to bring his wife and wide-eyed son, Callum, along with him for family holidays.
“It wasn’t the worst thing,” Callum chuckled. “It was amazing to be able to join him, and you were vastly aware there that he was the guy on stage, and [I remember] being sat the breakfast table and people coming up and going ‘great show last night’.
“I learned everything I know from him. You wouldn’t be able to walk down King Street without Dad being stopped and saying hello to somebody.”
Now, Callum is an excellent musician in his own right; bringing his charismatic and dextrous jazz singing to some of the most prestigious venues in the world, from Ronnie’s Scott’s in London to the Caveau de la Huchette in Paris.
He’s even performed alongside his father for the occasional cruise ship number, too.
But most touring jazz musicians don’t, it has to be said, also enjoy a double-life working as a proton therapy physicist.
“Because there are only two [proton beam therapy] centres in the UK, the site is operational 24 hours a day – either we have it for physics testing or making sure that all plans are safe and deliverable, or they’re treating patients with it, or it’s under maintenance from the company that provide it.
“So that means I’ll often have a 7am shift that finishes about 3pm that then gives me some time to get on a train, hop over to a gig, do that set-up, soundcheck, and come back – then the next day I might get onto a late shift.”
He conceded: “I can’t do every gig, and sometimes I have to take leave if we’re on tour and that sort of thing.
“I basically just do as many as I can and fit them around what I can manage with my work and also my family, because I’m married with a one-year-old now, as well – so that’s an extra consideration.”
His wife Laura, he joked, was “very understanding”.
Callum noted that his professional and creative life often run hand-in-hand.
“You have to deliver – the patient has got to be treated, the gig has got to happen, the show must go on”, he observed.
The decision to pursue a career in the medical field stemmed from a bit of sage family advice, Callum told.
“My Mum’s a dancer, my Dad was a singer – and they said it’s a great industry to be in, it’s really exciting, but, there’s not that security.
“So if you find something that you do and enjoy – and are passionate about – do that, and music will always be there.
“And music has always been there, and I‘ve always been able to do it alongside and, kind of, have my cake and eat it.”
Despite his acclaim in the UK and further afield, Callum has yet to perform under his own name in Jersey, the place that nurtured his love for all things music in the first place.
With thanks to Adria Godfrey – the founder of Jazz en Jèrri, a company dedicated to making jazz and live music accessible to all in Jersey – Callum will be returning to the Island for a special homecoming show at the Arts Centre on Thursday 26 March.
“I came across Callum through a musician I work with called James Owston, who’s a bass player, and I realised he’s from Jersey and nobody has even thought to bring Callum here”, she said.
“I’ve [then] seen him perform and he’s just got this beautiful voice, and such personality on stage; he’s very charismatic, he’s sort of Jersey crooner, if you know what I mean.”
The homecoming performance, she said, will be about Islanders coming together as a community “to experience the joy of music”.
“He’s coming with a trio”, she said, describing the set-up at the Arts Centre as “intimate” with “a lot of room for improvisation.”
Audience members can expect a wonderful show with a subtle autobiographical thread running through it, Callum said.
“Basically what I’ve done is I’ve taken a load of songs that mean something to me […] and put together a playlist of way too many songs, and sent them to the band, and we pick and choose.
“During my wedding speech, I sang a song to Laura – so I’ve put that one in; for my Aunt and Uncle’s wedding anniversary, that’s one that I got up and did an acapella version of something for.
“The first song I sung to my son is a lullaby, the first song that I sung with my Dad on stage – each one’s just going to have a little something about a time in my life.
“I get to come home, it’s my own gig, and I get to sing my favourite songs – and that’s what I’m going to do”, he smiled.
His band – Alex Howe on piano, Daehyun Lee on drums and James Owston on Double Bass – will even be staying at his family home.
“We’re going to try and convince my Dad to make a chilli for a post-gig after party”, he laughed.
As a patient literally began knocking on his door in the background, Callum found time at the the end of our conversation to emphasise that people need not be “jazz experts” to come along and enjoy the show.
“I definitely think that there is jazz for everyone,” he said. “I’m just really excited to have the opportunity to come back and do it.”
