{"id":16399,"date":"2017-02-14T14:23:24","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T21:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=16399"},"modified":"2017-02-14T16:59:23","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T23:59:23","slug":"curtis-stigers-video-feature-web-exclusive-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2017\/02\/curtis-stigers-video-feature-web-exclusive-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"CURTIS STIGERS Video Feature &#038; Web-Exclusive Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>VIDEO FEATURE &amp; WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1>Musician: CURTIS STIGERS<\/h1>\n<h3>Music Video: One More for the Road<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5pTe2t7C6qM\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>50 years ago, magic was made on the stage of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, when the timeless cool of Frank Sinatra met the robust swing of the Count Basie Orchestra.\u00a0<em>Sinatra at the Sands<\/em>\u00a0has remained a beloved classic ever since, the perfect marriage of old-school pop and big band jazz.<\/p>\n<p>Singer, songwriter and saxophonist\u00a0Curtis Stigers\u00a0has been bringing those worlds together in his own music for the last three decades, which makes him an ideal candidate to reinterpret Ol\u2019 Blue Eyes\u2019 cherished repertoire for modern ears. On <em>One More for the Road<\/em>, his January 20, 2017 release for Concord Jazz, Stigers captures the rare alchemy of hipness, elegance, playfulness and feeling that made Sinatra\u2019s renditions of these songs immortal, celebrating the 50<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of <em>Sinatra at the Sands<\/em> with the virtuosic and ebulliently swinging musicians of the\u00a0Danish Radio Big Band.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first goal,\u201d Stigers says, \u201cis to be the best at what I do\u2014to be a great singer, to sing a song with honesty and integrity. If you put the quality of what you do first, you will always be more successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curtis Stigers talks with us about growing up in Boise, Idaho\u2014playing the clarinet in high school, sitting in with the legendary jazz pianist Gene Harris before he even knew how important Harris was to jazz, working hard to do what he loves, and his strong desire to be really good at making music.<\/p>\n<h3>CURTIS STIGERS Web-Exclusive Interview<br \/>\nwith M Music &amp; Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David<\/h3>\n<p><strong>How did the album One More for the Road evolve?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Originally, it wasn\u2019t an album at all\u2014it was a concert, a live record. Nine of the tracks are from a concert I did in January 2014, and \u201cDon\u2019t Worry About Me\u201d from a year later because I liked that version. The original concert was in Denmark, with the Danish Radio Big Band. They wanted me to sing a bunch of songs, mostly from the album <em>Sinatra at the Sands<\/em>\u2014his live record. I flew to Denmark, we rehearsed for a day, got dressed up, drank some Danish beer, and sang a great bunch of songs with a fantastic big band. Most of these songs I\u2019ve listened to so many times\u2014they are in my DNA. They\u2019re mostly from Frank Sinatra\u2019s Capitol era. They were songs I knew, but never sung them with a big band or an orchestra at that point. It turned out great and it was a lot of fun, and then I flew home.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16407\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-3-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16407\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-16407 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-3-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg\" alt=\"Photo Credit: Mali Lazell\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-3-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-3-credit-Mali-Lazell-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-16407\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Mali Lazell<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>So, how did this recording come about?<\/strong><br \/>\nAbout a month later, they sent me the recordings, and I didn\u2019t even listen to it the first couple of days. But when I listened to it, it was good. It was a very high quality recording\u2014for the broadcast all around Denmark. I started sharing it with people. Again, this is almost three years ago. I played it for my manager, and he said, \u201cThis is great. We should talk to Concord about this.\u201d He sent it to them, and they were really interested and wanted to release it for Sinatra\u2019s centenary, which was in 2015. But they thought there was going to be a glut of Sinatra records, and decided not to do it. I was okay with that decision because for me, it was a really fun night, and we have some really nice recordings. It wasn\u2019t something I had worked on for a year and a half and written a bunch of songs. So, for me, in my head, it really wasn\u2019t a record yet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did Concord Records come back to you?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Concord got back in touch with us halfway through that centenary year saying \u201cWe gotta put this out\u2014there haven\u2019t been enough Sinatra records out.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I said, \u201cFirst of all guys, it\u2019s too late. We missed it.\u201d But it turns out the original Sinatra <em>Sands<\/em> record was 50 in 2016, so it made sense to revisit it. The strange thing is that I didn\u2019t sit down and say, \u201cI <em>need<\/em> to make a Sinatra record.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I\u2019ve avoided that. I\u2019ve always railed against the idea of concept or tribute records. I never understood why someone would do that. I feel people should do something else\u2014do their own thing. I\u2019ve always made records that came out of the ether, and there was a particular reason for each song. And then once the recording is finished and I look back at the record, I realize \u2018Oh, this really does have a theme.\u201d It\u2019s heartbreak, the end of my marriage, new love or whatever. They always end up having a theme. I\u2019m just never sure what it is. I do it all so instinctively. But this one, it was readymade\u2014for a nod to one of my great heroes. So all those years about being snobby about tribute records\u2014I\u2019m gonna be paid back for it. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Was Sinatra a big influence on you?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Sinatra was a huge influence in my life. Musically, even when I was kid\u2014I would see him on TV in the 70s. He wasn\u2019t necessarily cool, but he was hugely popular. I saw him sing his cornier stuff, \u201cMy Way,\u201d \u201cIt Was a Very Good Year\u201d or \u201cNew York, New York,\u201d and I would think<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That\u2019s such a cool story.\u2019 That\u2019s the first thing that got me about Sinatra\u2014what a great storyteller he was. When he sang a song, whether it was a swingin\u2019 up-tempo or corny melodramatic pop song\u2014you got drawn in. Every word meant something, and he made those songs his life story. He would take a song by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn and make it a part of that myth-building\u2014a part of who we know Sinatra to have been\u2014whether he was that or not. He truly had a way of telling\u2014creating a story.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remember your first Sinatra album?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I bought my first Sinatra used vinyl at a local record store\u2014<em>Songs for Only the Lonely<\/em>. Then the next year the album <em>No One Cares<\/em> had \u201cI Can\u2019t Get Started\u201d\u2014and I sang that song a lot when I was a kid. Again, it told a great story. I got that no matter how much he wanted her to love him, she wasn\u2019t there. I got that as a maudlin 19 year old kid. And I get it now. That continues to be the thing that influences me about Sinatra. Of course, his voice kills me. I love the texture of his voice\u2014that he could sing incredibly sweetly and quietly, and would let his voice crack occasionally. And then he could sing big and beautiful and loud. And he could swing like the greatest musicians. Besides being a wonderful storyteller, he was a great musician. And that\u2019s why he\u2019s not only known as a pop singer, but he\u2019s known in jazz circles\u2014certainly as a jazz singer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about a musical hero you worked with.<br \/>\n<\/strong>I was a huge Elton John fan\u2014bought <em>Goodbye Yellow Brick Road<\/em> when I was in the third grade. I\u2019m still a huge fan. I was lucky enough to meet him\u2014opened for him many times. It\u2019s not like we hang out (<em>laughs<\/em>), but I consider him a friend. He\u2019s always been really nice to me. I loved him because he was a great storyteller, a musician\u2014a wonderful piano player, great songwriter, and a flamboyant pop star. That appealed to me as a kid who was interested in pop and rock. I opened for Elton John, Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt\u2014at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 88,000 people. That was clearly a \u201cpinch me\u201d moment. All three of them are so important to the way I perform, the way I sing, the way I write. I found myself in Elton John\u2019s big palatial dressing room, and Bonnie walked in. Two of my favorite singers in the world, and there I was in the room with them\u2014like they were my contemporaries. Obviously, I was just a kid who was just drooling, but I knew at that moment\u2014this is something special.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You worked with Bonnie Raitt too?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Last summer, Bonnie was in Boise, and I got to hang out with her, sing and play sax for her on stage\u2014here in my hometown. That was a full circle. I was only seriously in the pop realm for about 8 or 9 years, and really only had a lot of success for just a couple of years. But during that time, I got to have some big fun. The people I met and the places I got to go\u2014the TV shows I was on\u2014it was fantastic. Strangely, it didn\u2019t really fit who I am, as a person. I mean, I wash the dishes, run the laundry, drop my daughter at school. I\u2019m kind of a normal dad\u2014except that I sing for a living. This part of my career fits me better as a person. I play smaller places, and I meet the people I play for. It just makes more sense to me. But those were fun days.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16405\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16405\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-16405 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-2-credit-Norman-Seeff-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Curtis Stigers-2 - credit Norman Seeff\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-2-credit-Norman-Seeff-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-2-credit-Norman-Seeff.jpg 570w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16405\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Norman Seeff<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Top 5 Musicians or Songwriters who inspired you to become a musician?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Elton John\u2014great songwriter and a flamboyant pop star. Stevie Wonder\u2014was really big in my early years. As far as jazz singers, Sarah Vaughan and Mark Murphy\u2014appealed to me in high school. I sang in a jazz choir at school\u2014in Boise, Idaho. There was this circuit of high schools and little colleges that had jazz choirs\u2014Manhattan Transfer times four. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I actually went to college on a jazz scholarship\u2014singing in a jazz choir and playing in a jazz band. I only went there for one year. I got thrown out. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I thought I knew more than I actually did. It was a little college in Pasco, Washington, but it had a great jazz professor\u2014Dave Barduhn\u2014who had arranged for Stan Kenton big band. He has since become a good friend, and has hired me for gigs over the years. Actually, he\u2019s done some arrangements of my songs that jazz choirs around the Northwest do. It\u2019s pretty funny how it\u2019s come full circle. At 51, I am now those charts that I used to read. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I really got into jazz singers then\u2014in late high school, in my late teens. Mark Murphy, not only became a hero of mine but also became a friend and a mentor of mine\u2014which was lovely. He was so kind to me, and really took care of me. When I moved to New York, he introduced me to a lot of really cool people, and got me going in some interesting directions. Also, Ray Charles was a huge influence. B.B. King\u2014just phrasing-wise. When it comes to blues singers, BB and Joe Williams. I could go on and on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How does where you grow up (Boise, ID), where you live or travel influence your music?<\/strong><br \/>\nAs a kid, music in the schools was fantastic. The music education program in Boise, surprisingly enough, was just great\u2014great band director, great choir director. I was a drum major, and the lead tenor in the big band. I got a lot of education for free\u2014just by going to school every day. Also, Gene Harris, a legendary jazz pianist in the 50s, 60s and 70s\u2014retired to Boise, Idaho, in the late 70s. He retired from the road and from recording for a while, but he had a gig playing five nights a week in the lobby bar of the Idanha Hotel. It was just something for him to do. He played for free. His wife sat at the first table. They made it their living room\u2014one of the greatest pianists in the world, playing in Boise\u2014for free, every night.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you ever play with Gene Harris?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Tuesday was open jam session\u2014anybody could come in and play. At that time, I didn\u2019t fully realize who Gene Harris was until I later moved to New York when I was 21 and I went to see him play with Ray Brown at the Blue Note. Only then I realized, \u201cWow! I\u2019ve been playing with a legend all these years.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) A few years after that, when I got my record deal and had my success with a few hits\u2014Gene asked me to sing on his records. So it came full circle when I got a chance to sing on a few of his records before he passed away. That was a big deal\u2014to get to learn jazz music\u2014playing with someone who helped to create that music. That was huge.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16404\" style=\"width: 340px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16404\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-16404 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-4-credit-Norman-Seeff.jpg\" alt=\"Curtis Stigers-4 - credit Norman Seeff\" width=\"330\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-4-credit-Norman-Seeff.jpg 330w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-4-credit-Norman-Seeff-300x202.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 330px) 100vw, 330px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16404\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Norman Seeff<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Sax is your main instrument, but I believe you also play guitar and clarinet.<\/strong><br \/>\nYeah. I grew up playing the clarinet. The saxophone took over as the instrument of choice. I also played drums in rock bands. I\u2019m an average singer-songwriter on guitar, but my main instrument is the saxophone. I learned a lot from records. I wanted to play the music I heard on records\u2014whether it was jazz, punk rock, blues, soul, pop. I wanted to learn it all. It never occurred to me that I was just one guy. I\u2019m still waiting to figure out which guy I actually am. Since my hit \u201cI Wonder Why\u201d came out, I\u2019ve always been known as the singer who plays saxophone. That\u2019s fine. I do, and I like to play sax. In my own concerts, I tend to play sax on a blues or a ballad. I play where it is best suited. Otherwise, I\u2019m a singer\u2014that\u2019s my thing. My voice is my main instrument.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you start with the clarinet?<\/strong><br \/>\nI was a clarinet player because my cousin Diane had graduated from high school, and I inherited her clarinet when I was old enough to be in the school band. I became a horn player, a woodwind player, because of cousin Diane. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I realized at a certain point if I wanted to play music other than classical music\u2014or a little more jazz\u2014then saxophone was more the direction. I picked up the sax, and that became my thing. I never really became the saxophone player I hoped to be. I\u2019d love to be Hank Mobley or Michael Brecker. I always say I\u2019m a singer who owns a saxophone. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) But I can sit in with a blues band or soul band and hold my own, no problem. I like to play sax, but if a real sax player comes\u2014I set it down. When a great jazz saxophonist walks in, I usually put my horn down and start singing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you start playing in the school band?<br \/>\n<\/strong>It\u2019s funny where you get your inspiration. The thing that really made me want to play in a school band\u2014when a friend\u2019s parents took me to see the Army Band or maybe the Marine Band. They were playing drums, horns and saxophones. I thought, \u2018I want to do that. I want one of those instruments\u2014I don\u2019t care what it is.\u2019 (<em>Laughs<\/em>) It was a military band of all things, but it got me going. You just never know where you will get the inspiration.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What equipment can you not live without?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Vandoren has always been incredibly generous with me. I played on Vandoren reeds for years and years. I just started playing with a new Vandoren mouth piece. I\u2019m playing exclusively on a new V16 metal mouthpiece. I just love it. I\u2019ve always had a hard time finding good mouthpieces that work for me, and when I tried this I thought, \u2018Oh, this was made for me\u2014perfect.\u2019 They\u2019re great. I like them. They\u2019ve been very, very kind to me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who inspired you to write songs?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Elton John, because he was a songwriter, was a huge influence on me as a musician. <em>Goodbye Yellow Brick Road<\/em> was the first album I ever bought\u2014in the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Grade. From that point on, I was drawn to singers who also wrote their own songs. Eventually, I kind of had to let go of that because there are so many great singers, like Frank Sinatra, who never wrote songs. When I started making jazz records, I allowed myself to let go of just being a singer who sang his own songs. I love singing other people\u2019s songs, and I\u2019ve always done it. Now, I\u2019m able to record an album with maybe none of my own songs, and I\u2019m fine with it. My most autobiographical album which came out about five years ago, <em>Let\u2019s Go Out Tonight<\/em>, doesn\u2019t have even one original song on it. I didn\u2019t write one song, but every single one of those songs is about me. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I love finding other people\u2019s songs. I love singer-songwriters like Elton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Donald Fagen from Steely Dan\u2014one of the greatest songwriters ever. His <em>Nightfly<\/em> is so good. Every word, you go \u2018how did you do that?\u2019 It\u2019s like a novel. It\u2019s every bit as good as <em>The Catcher in the Rye<\/em> or <em>The Great Gatsby<\/em>. I think it\u2019s brilliant. After we talk, I\u2019m going to put that album on because I haven\u2019t listened to it in a while.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about working with amazing songwriters like Glen Ballard, Carole King, Barry Mann and Shelly Peiken.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Yeah, I\u2019ve been very lucky to work with these amazing talents. I write as much as I can, but it\u2019s the hardest thing for me. I always say that I love starting a song, and I love finishing a song. The rest of it is agony. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) In order for me to write a song that I\u2019m really proud of and I really love\u2014I have to spend a lot of time editing, re-editing and agonizing over it. Most great songwriters I know don\u2019t take that kind of time. They sit down and write something and it seems like it\u2019s instantly brilliant. There are always exceptions. Sometimes a song might take someone longer. It\u2019s hard for me. It\u2019s a lot of work. Once I finish a song, and I know it\u2019s a good song, I love it. It\u2019s so fulfilling to write a song I\u2019m proud of. But it can be like pulling teeth. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16403\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16403\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-16403 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-5-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg\" alt=\"Curtis Stigers-5 - credit Mali Lazell\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-5-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-5-credit-Mali-Lazell-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Mali Lazell<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>How often do you write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nI write when I can. I usually need a deadline. I write a song when I gotta have a song. More than once, I have finished a lyric to a song\u2014while they\u2019re mixing. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I finish the song outside the studio and run in and record the vocal for the final mix. And some of those have been my favorite songs like \u201cLullaby on the Hudson\u201d that I wrote for the album <em>I Think It\u2019s Going to Rain Today<\/em>. It was about 10 years ago. I wrote it about my daughter. It was all in my head but not on paper. I was sitting on the steps outside Monica Mancini\u2019s house. At that time, that\u2019s where the mixing room of Concord Records was located. I was outside the Concord Studios, looking out over the valley in LA, and I was writing these lyrics. And I could just hear them inside the studio getting all the levels in place, and I said to myself, \u2018This song is obviously done because he\u2019s ready for me to sing it.\u2019 (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I tend to be the great procrastinator but sometimes it works.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What PRO are you with, and how have they helped a musician like you?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve always been an ASCAP guy. They got me with \u201cIrving Berlin started this organization.\u201d I thought, \u2018OK, that\u2019s the organization I want to be in.\u2019 I\u2019ve always liked the folks at ASCAP. They\u2019ve always treated me very well. I co-wrote and sang the theme song to the TV series <em>Sons of Anarchy<\/em>. The other writers and I have won an ASCAP Award. I go to those Awards just to check in with them. Aside from getting the checks and collecting all that wonderful money that I\u2019m owed, ASCAP has always felt like a family. I like being a part of an organization like that\u2014in your business but outside that main record business thing. They\u2019re cool. I like them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With whom did you co-write that Anarchy theme?<\/strong><br \/>\nDave Kushner and Bob Thiel Jr.\u2014Bob and I have been friends since the early 90s. We\u2019ve been writing songs, and he actually produced one of my records back in 1999. He called me one day about eight months before the show premiered. He said, I got a new job. I\u2019m the music supervisor on this new TV show, and it\u2019s about murderous gun-running bikers\u2014write the lyric. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I wrote the lyric, recorded the demo and sent it back, and that demo was the soundtrack. Bob Theil Jr. is a very talented guy who continues to do soundtrack work and write songs. I never got to meet Bob\u2019s father, who produced all those Coltrane records, Buddy Holly, and so much more.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16402\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16402\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-16402 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-6-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg\" alt=\"credit Mali Lazell\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-6-credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-6-credit-Mali-Lazell-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Mali Lazell<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Where were you when you first heard your song on the radio?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt must have been over 25 years ago. I was on the road trying to get radio stations to play \u201cI Wonder Why.\u201d I was in a car just outside Lancaster, PA, Amish country, and I had just dropped it at the radio station and chatted with the program director. They were nice but kept me at arm\u2019s length because they don\u2019t know if they\u2019re going to play your song. I got back in the car and we were driving down the road and crossing the river, and Johnny the radio DJ said, \u201cAnd now here\u2019s a new one from a new artist we just met\u2014Curtis Stigers.\u201d And then they played \u201cI Wonder Why\u201d\u2014and my head almost exploded. It was <em>so<\/em> fantastic\u2014just beautiful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you still remember those firsts?<\/strong><br \/>\nYes. I remember the first time I heard Casey Kasem announce my song. (<em>Imitates Kasem<\/em>) \u201cAnd now, here\u2019s Curtis Stigers.\u201d I listened to American Top 40 my whole childhood, and now here he was\u2014saying my name. It was extraordinary. I was sitting at home, and I remember his voice saying my name. I longed for it\u2014that, and the idea of sitting on <em>The Tonight Show<\/em> couch. I watched it every night\u2014my whole childhood. From the time I was five or six years old, watching it with my grandmother\u2014playing cards at her table while she drank coffee late at night. She was a fun grandma. I used to imagine what I\u2019d say to Johnny Carson. I was on about five times with Jay Leno, but never Carson. But I am so happy I was on that show. To this day, sitting on that couch next to that desk\u2014it\u2019s still pretty amazing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice someone has given you.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Gene Harris, the legendary jazz pianist, when I was probably 19. He heard me sing for the first time. Usually I\u2019d go in and play horn with this group, \u201cThe Young Jazz Lions.\u201d We\u2019d play with Gene, but that night he said, \u201cYou guys go up and play a song.\u201d We played, and I sang something like \u201cStolen Moments.\u201d During the next break Gene said, \u201cYou know, you\u2019ve been coming here and playing horn for several years now, and you\u2019re a good horn player. But, I think this singing thing\u2014this is where you belong.\u201d And that was damn good advice. I took him up on that, and it worked\u2014it really did.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-16401\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-7-cd-One-More-for-the-Road.jpg\" alt=\"Curtis Stigers-7 - cd One More for the Road\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-7-cd-One-More-for-the-Road.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-7-cd-One-More-for-the-Road-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-7-cd-One-More-for-the-Road-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice you\u2019d like to give this next generation of musicians.<br \/>\n<\/strong>The thing I see in young musicians or young singers\u2014is the desire to be famous, as opposed to having a desire to be really good at what you do. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve always strived for. I work hard. I get up early in the morning to do interviews. I definitely work hard to sell tickets and sell records. But my first goal is to be the best at what I do\u2014to be a great singer, to sing a song with honesty and integrity. If you put the quality of what you do first, you will always be more successful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I\u2019m always getting ready for the next trip to Europe for tours and things. January was another trip to Denmark with the Danish Radio Big Band to celebrate this record. I also have another trip to play with the SWR Big Band. Doing a lot of big band stuff now because of this record, and I\u2019m very happy about it\u2014it\u2019s a lot of fun. I\u2019m playing in New York in May, and other similar dates.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>When\u2019s your next record?<br \/>\n<\/strong>I will put a record out\u2014maybe next year. I\u2019m not worrying about what my next record will be because of this live record, and I have an almost 17 year old daughter I really like spending time with. She\u2019s off to college in another year and a half, so I\u2019m making the most of being a dad now because she\u2019s going to be gone. I\u2019m spending a little less time on the road. I just did a song with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. My drummer is a drummer with Vince, and I was in New York a month ago and sat in with them and had a ball. I started thinking, \u2018Hmm, maybe <em>that\u2019s<\/em> the next record\u2019\u2014maybe dip into the 1920s and 30s. That could be one of several albums in my head. Vince plays bass sax\u2014he\u2019s so good. The guy is such a talent. He plays the big aluminum bass, invented in the teens, I think. And he plays bass sax, tuba and banjo. It just sounds like it would be fun to record with him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can your new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/CurtisStigers.com\" target=\"_blank\">CurtisStigers.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16400\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16400\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-16400 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-1-Credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg\" alt=\"Credit Mali Lazell\" width=\"660\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-1-Credit-Mali-Lazell.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-1-Credit-Mali-Lazell-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Curtis-Stigers-1-Credit-Mali-Lazell-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-16400\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Mali Lazell<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VIDEO FEATURE &amp; WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Musician: CURTIS STIGERS Music Video: One More for the Road 50 years ago, magic was made on the stage of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, when the timeless cool of Frank Sinatra met the robust swing of the Count Basie Orchestra.\u00a0Sinatra at the Sands\u00a0has remained a beloved [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[8750,8751,6271,8752,8753,8754,8755,8756,3186,3948,8757,5736,8758,1530,8759,434,8760,8761,8762,8763,8764,8765,8766,5662,1063,1060,3886,8767,7431,8768,8769,8770,8590,8771,8772,4935,8773,991,8774,7566,8775,8776,8777,3010,8708,7978,8778,1082,8779,8780,8781,8782,3263,8783,8784,8785,8786,8787,8788,8789,999,5372,8790,8791,8792,4937,8793,8794,8795,8796],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16399"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16413,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16399\/revisions\/16413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}