Saxophone virtuoso Jess Gillam has had a meteoric rise to fame and is leaving an indelible mark on the music world. The first-ever saxophonist signed to the prestigious Decca Classics label, both of Jess's albums have shot to No.1 in the Official UK Classical Charts. The host of the podcast This Classical Life for BBC Radio 3 tells David about her early beginnings with a local community carnival band, what she loves about the sax, and how her debut at Carnegie Hall contrasts other performances. Jess discusses her infectious enthusiasm and passion for classical and non-classical music, why she is so similar to her childhood role model Lisa Simpson (it's not just the saxophone!), and David crowns Jess the "most British person" he's ever interviewed.

Check out Jess Gillam on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, or the web and learn more about her show This Classical Life here.

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Photograph of Jess by Robin Clewley.

The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.

Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. 

This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.

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