A Brief History of Time... (in the music business)
a Biog
As a freelance sax, clarinet & flute player since the early eighties my work has been has been extremely varied and eclectic. Leaving the Leeds College of Music in 1982 with a Graduates Diploma in Jazz and Light Music I started touring and recording with Mari Wilson and the Wilsations. During this period I teamed up with pop producer Peter Collins recording with Nik Kershaw, Tracey Ullman, Jermaine Stewart (Shalamar) plus many others.
During the nineties I was in the house band of Channel 4’s Viva Cabaret and BBC1 ‘s Ben Elton Show plus appeared in several West End Musicals.
As well as being a Jazz player I also started to diversify and drift towards my roots, playing Klezmer and World music originally with Gregory Schechter’s Klezmer Festival band then forming my own ensemble K- Groove (aka Klezmer Groove). I have now released 4 Cds under my own name on 33 Records the most recent with my new group The Brass Bottom 4tet. Throughout this time I have always been involved in education sharing my joy of music and the music business with my pupils.
From the naughties there have been appearances on numerous CDs including several on John Zorn’s New York Jazz label Tzadik with Daphna Sadeh, Koby Israelite and the Spike Orchestra plus a playing appearance on Clint Eastwood’s “ White Hunter Black Heart” and the klezmer clarinet on the David Baddiel’s film “The Infidel.”
In 2007 my band K-Groove won the title of Klezmer Idol as voted by readers of the Jewish Chronicle.
Recently I have been appearing with the Jazz Dynamos at Ronnies and various Pizza Express venues.
Other performances and recordings have been with; Edwyn Collins, Glen Matlock, Matt Bianco, Clare Teal, Percy Sledge, Frankie Valli, Roberto Plas, Selena Jones, The Foundations, Daniel Cainer, Yaakov Shwekey,8th Day and Yehoram Gaon.
K-Groove
A unique band which takes an entirely fresh approach to World Jazz through Stewart Curtis' writing, fusing Klezmer & Arabic melodies with modern dance grooves.
“This guy is good! Like Artie Shaw before him, he’s taken a traditional idiom through a new perspective. If you have an enquiring taste in music try this!”
“A jittery band who attacked their numbers like Greek-taverna entertainers on hallucinogenic hummus”