Singer-songwriter and saxophonist Curtis Sitgers is a unique artist. Stigers has had several top ten hits and he’s written and sung an Emmy-nominated TV theme song. He’s recorded a track for one of the biggest-selling pop albums of all time and he’s released nine critically-acclaimed, award-winning jazz albums. He’s played for presidents and princes and he’s appeared in two Seth MacFarlane movies about a foul-mouthed cuddly bear called Ted. He’s recorded thirteen studio albums and a live album singing Sinatra songs with the world-famous Danish Radio Big Band. He’s toured with symphony orchestras, written songs with Carole King and duetted with Al Green, Shawn Colvin and Tom Jones.
Stigers spoke with WBGO's Doug Doyle about his latest album This Life and his upcoming performance at The Loft City Winery NYC on October 15.
The award-winning singer's album This Life has a beautiful rendition of his biggest hit "I Wonder Why" which has had several adaptations since it became a top ten pop/soul smash in 1991.
"I think I'm lucky. Somehow, Glen Ballard, my co-writer and I, we hit on something on an idea that was kind of universal. That is I wonder why we keep going through these arguments and the bickering and we still stay together. The first line of the song tips it off. The first line is that 'Love is a Hunger' and sometimes you just can't walk away from it. I've known people who have used this song as a wedding song. It's a song about what essentially was a breakup but I suppose there's enough hope in it and enough universal understanding of being in that state of disharmony and still managing to stay together. I really love this song because I wrote it. There are a lot of people who have had hits that have to continue to do those hits and maybe they don't love them. They didn't write them. This is my baby."
The title track of This Life is a well-known theme song that Stigers co-wrote and was nominated for an Emmy Award. "This Life" opened every episode of the wildly popular TV show Sons of Anarchy. Stigers has a new approach to the theme on this record.
"The recording that plays at the beginning of Sons of Anarchy rocks. My friend Bob Field Jr., who is the son of Bob Field, the great jazz producer who produced all those great Coltrane records, was the music supervisor and he made that music. He sent me the track and told me to write some lyrics for the show. Eventually, I ended up being the singer on it. It gave me a chance to go back to my blues and rock roots. When it came time to record it for this new album, we needed a version that we could play that sounded like us. We made it a little swampier and more atmospheric."
This Life opens with Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love And Understanding,” a song Stigers originally recorded in 1992 for the soundtrack album to the movie The Bodyguard which, thanks to five massive hit singles from Whitney Houston, sold more than 45 million copies.
Opening shows for the likes of Elton John, Prince, Eric Clapton, James Brown, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart and Bonnie Raitt, and made multiple appearances on the TV show circuit, including The Tonight Show, David Letterman, Arsenio and The Today Show. Heady times for a kid raised in Idaho who grew up listening to records by artists as diverse as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, The Band, Elvis Costello, The Stranglers, Pretenders, Squeeze, XTC, Ray Charles, Joe Williams, Tom Waits, Led Zeppelin, Sarah Vaughan and Miles Davis.
Early on in Stigers' career a jazz legend gave him some advice that changed his course in music. After a heart-to-heart talk with his friend and musical hero, legendary jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker, Curtis decided to take the leap and begin a new chapter: Wondering if he could make a living making jazz records, Stigers says he took Brecker's advice and signed a record deal with Concord Jazz.
"He (Brecker) said you've got to do it. This is what your heart is telling you. He basically said 'jump in the waters great' and he was right. I made that jump and I realized that my income was going to come almost entirely from touring from then on. As jazz musicians, we go out there and play the music and that's what I always wanted to do anyway.''
That choice has resulted in more than three decades of performances.
During the pandemic, Curtis began a weekly internet livestream show called "Songs From My Kitchen" that has the singer new fans.
Stigers is extremely proud of his wife, Jodi Peterson-Stigers, who is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Sanctuary Shelter in Boise, Idaho.
"She is amazing. Throughout COVID, she was a hero. My favorite photo of her is her wearing a blue mask and taking someone's temperature out in the courtyard behind the shelter. She just looks like Superwoman. She has expanded the services, adding mental health programming and sobriety programs. I get to help her by singing."
Stigers' fundraising concerts have resulted in millions of dollars for the shelter.
Here's what some critics say about his music.
Stigers remains one of the most thoughtful and uncategorisable of artists. Armed with a characterful croon, a chiselled jaw and a saxophone, the American singer is winning wide acclaim . . . His stage manner is as droll and quick-witted as the very best stand-up comedian’s. Stigers is now one of the most sophisticated acts on the circuit. Do not miss him.”—The Times of London
Like Diana Krall, Stigers instinctively understands how to strike a balance between improvisation and entertainment. Jazz desperately needs more artists like him.”—The Times of London
When Curtis Stigers came on stage on Wednesday night, it felt as if someone had upped the wattage in the bulbs.”—Wall Street Journal
You can SEE the entire interview with Curtis Stigers here.
