Jess Gillam with... Karim Kamar

Jess Gillam and pianist Karim Kamar share some of their favourite music. Karim has an amazing musical story - after loving playing as a kid but never studying properly, at 25 he decided to quit his job and learn the piano seriously to become a professional musician. He spent years painstakingly learning how to play - and has since released 6 albums and performed at some of the most iconic music venues from Ronnie Scott’s to the Royal Albert Hall. He’s also a bit of a star on social media with millions of fans who follow his adventures of him playing the many street pianos you find around the country.

His music picks are all based around the piano - from the pure romance of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, to the video game imagination of Ryuichi Sakamoto and the latin funk of Stevie Wonder. Meanwhile Jess finds a new inspiration in Sibelius's Third Symphony, one of her teenage soundtracks in Massive Attack and an uneasy waltz by Shostakovich.

Playlist:

MILES DAVIS: Nardis [Bill Evans Trio] SHOSTAKOVICH: Jazz Suite no.2 – Waltz no 2 [Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Riccardo Chailly (conductor)] RUYICHI SAKAMOTO: Seven Samurai: Ending Theme RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto no 2 – 2nd mvt Adagio sostenuto [Khatia Buniatishvilli (piano), Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Jarvi (conductor)] MASSIVE ATTACK: Hymn of the Big Wheel CHOPIN: Waltz op.64 no.2 in C sharp minor [Arthur Rubinstein (piano)] SIBELIUS: Symphony no.3 – 2nd mvt Andantino [BBC Philharmonic /John Storgards (conductor)] STEVIE WONDER: Another Star