Curtis Stigers – Lost In Dreams (2009)
Artist : Curtis Stigers
Album : Lost In Dreams
Released Date : September 29, 2009
Label : Concord Records
The releasing of Curtis Stigers‘ new album brings back some memories for me personally. It was way back in 1991 when Stigers released his selftitled first album. I was still young at that time, and it was one of the albums that I always dearly loved. One of the songs from that album, “I Wonder Why”, became a fantastic radio hit in Indonesia and favorite ballad for many music fans. He amazed me with his different touch of creating music. His manly and raspy voice was perfectly used to present a kind of pop rockin’ songs with touches of jazz, blues and soul all over. Also his saxophone playing was so special too. It felt great at that time to have him rockin’ his way with sax, and I thought he was the rockin’ Dave Koz who just released his debut album a year earlier. His debut album was a huge success in Indonesia. No wonder, for we listened to a man with great voice, quite resemblance to a modern Ray Charles with an ability to play sax, besides also gifted as a good songwriter, with a really bluesy soul. I still enjoy listening to the album until today. Besides “I Wonder Why”, there are some other songs like “You’re All That Matters To Me”, “This Time” (from his 2nd album, “Time Was”) and “To Be Loved” from Dawson’s Creek OST that I love most. For me, Curtis Stigers is always special. Hits after hits, quality albums and his approaches that never want to be trapped into any particular genre represent his real color. It’s been a while since Stigers’ released his previous album, “Real Emotional” in 2007. And now, he’s back under Concord Records with his brand new album, “Lost In Dreams”.
In his 2nd decade career, Curtis Stigers has entered many different genres, often blending them into one which would be difficult to categorize strictly into one specific genre. Jazz, rock, pop, blues and soul, even country have been his influence from the beginning. Born and raised in Idaho, Stigers spent his school years studying clarinet and saxophone, two essential instruments that are often related to jazz, which seems awakened his jazz sensibilities at an early age. In his teenage years, often he held weekly jam sessions with jazz great Gene Harris at a local club in his hometown. But as we know, art rock and punk emerged in the 70s, followed by the new wave invasion in the 80’s. And Stigers was immersed in prevailing those genres too, even though he still received jazz consciousness from jazz legends during the day from the likes of Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan and others. That fact drew his career path. In his debut album he started with pop rock album with some touch of jazz and blues here and there, a very successful debut album released in 1991. After series of pop rock oriented album, Stigers decided to turn his direction more into jazz. He joined Concord and released “Baby Plays Around”, his first on Concord in 2000, a right decision as Stigers later realized that doing jazz is what he was best at. This album followed by more jazz textured albums such as “Secret Heart” (2002), “You Inspire Me” (2003), “I Think It’s Going To Rain Today” (2005) and “Real Emotional” (2007).
What’s great about him is that he always knows how to make the songs easy to enjoy. Even when he’s establishing himself as a jazz vocalist later on, we can still find the track of those other genres attached to his songs here and there. During his career he’s worked with many big names such as Elton John, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Gene Harris, Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers Band and Joe Cocker to say the least. Surely his colorful experience shapes him better and better. And now we have his new release “Lost In Dreams” which has been available in the market since September 29, 2009.
In “Lost In Dreams” Stigers again shows his remarkable style. This is an album that combines his unique jazz style with generous doses of soul, pop and blues along with his personal take on contemporary standards. Joining him for this album are the longtime keyboardist Matthew Fries, drummer Keith Hall and the newcomer bassist Cliff Schmitt. The album is co-produced and arranged by John Sneider who replaced Larry Goldings, Stigers’ longtime co-producer and arranger, even though Goldings contribution in this album can still be found in “The Dreams of Yesterday”. If you hear some trumpets, glockenspiel and vibes throughout the album, it surely comes from Sneider. With this strong unit, Stigers goes on mixing his own compositions with some very popular standards, even tosses in curve balls from diverse sources from Rodgers and Hart, Annie Lennox, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Dame Vera Lynn. One thing for sure, Stigers didn’t just cover them, but he placed his signatures on them, resulting in as if those songs were brand new ones that were made for him. You think you have listened to the most perfect version, or you were already attached to the originals, some standards might have been done many times, but wait until you hear Stigers’ version. It’s nowhere close to what you have listened, as Stigers’ made them all with his own taste. Also, it’s good to know even though Stigers’ hasn’t made any album since 2007, he never lost his edge. His passion is still there, still highly creative as he ever be, in fact he gets even better.
Surprise, surprise, Stigers’ starts pinning the dark theatrical Annie Lennox‘ “Cold” into a jazzin’ folk blues style. It feels great to see how Stigers cries his heart out into this song and you will find yourself melt into it straight away. “You’ve Got The Fever” offers a different style in the tradition of the classic “Sway” with a steady mambo beat. It’s a very interesting song with smart lyrics that you’ll love instantly. “Vera, We’ll Meet Again” is a special tribute to Dame Vera Lynn. This song is a case of creativity, joining two songs from two different worlds and ages smoothly that you won’t even notice it. Starting with covering “Vera”, a brief introduction of Vera Lynn, as written by Roger Waters in his Pink Floyd era that can be found in the legendary “The Wall” album, Stigers then carries the song with Lynn’s classic from the World War II era, “We’ll Meet Again”. From a reflective piano play then goes into the cool-cat jazz standard, it’s a smart move to give a respect to Dame Vera Lynn. A very beautiful meditative and dreamy song is next, “The Dreams of Yesterday”. This is a song composed by Stigers and his longtime co-producer and arranger Larry Goldings. You’d love to sit and think about your yester-years with this song.
Imagine the famous John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” goes bluesier with a scream coming from a sad soul. That’s what you get with the next track. Stigers sings it nicely applying the approach of Ray Charles if he sang this song. Not only his voice but also his sax roars in this song too. Another classic comes, this time from the pair of legendary American songwriters Rodgers and Hart. You know this song so well, it’s “My Funny Valentine”. Still, even though you’ve heard many versions, Stigers gives a fresh new breath into the song. The next one is an interesting playful jazz bluesy song, entitled “Daddy’s Coming Home”, a song written by Stigers and Sneider. The track continues with another classic from the 20’s, “Bye Bye Blackbird” is Stigers’ visit to the glamorous Broadway style, swinging with the jazz standard.
“Reason for Our Love” is a song taken from the Canadian folk pop singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith’s collection. This is a smooth and tender ballad that will melt your heart away for its beauty, definitely one of my favorite pick from this album. Stigers carries on with “Dirty Water”, a song appears in the tradition of the jazz standard “Fever”, starting with the steady bass pick and finger snapping sounds and goes wilder later on but still keeping it cool. “Feels Right” is another cool jazz standard that’s perfect to listen at night. The final song for the album is “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”, a gut-wrenching but enduring classic. The mostly popular version is found in Frank Sinatra’s 1955 album and the song was also popularized by many artists from generation to generation. Again, Stigers makes it his own, thanks to the beautiful and elegant arrangement made by Sneider.
“Lost in Dreams” is an irresistible album with series of rainbow-like selection. Whether it comes from jazz standards, the roaring 20’s era, the World War II, the folk pop even art/progressive rock era, Stigers bravely takes the core and interpret them as his own, combining with his new fresh original materials. As Stigers’ soul always wants to be free, you will find many gems of genres inside the album. There are blues, soul, pop, a slight art rock feel even folk, but you will notice that it’s clearly a brilliant jazz recording. For sure this album will stay long in my late at night playlist. Haven’t heard him for 3 years, it’s nice to have Curtis Stigers back in business. Stigers’ superb talent just gets better and better and this album surely will quench the thirst of his fans and grabs the new ones at the same time. Whether you’re a long time fan or just recently know him, this album is a compelling work of art that jazz aficionados would love right away.
Tracklisting
1. Cold (5:48)
2. You’ve Got the Fever
3. Medley: Vera, We’ll Meet Again
4. The Dreams of Yesterday
5. Jealous Guy
6. My Funny Valentine
7. Daddy’s Coming Home
8. Bye Bye Blackbird
9. Reason for Our Love
10. Dirty Water
11. Feels Right
12. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
For more info log on to Curtis Stigers’ official website
Purchase Curtis Stigers’ Lost In Dreams at Amazon.com
*Curtis Stigers’ pictures used in this article are credited to Andy Lawless
Reviewed by: Riandy Kurniawan
Special thanks to :
Alhenri Wijaya
Popularity: 4% [?]
Loading ...
