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| LA Based Guitarist/Composer Peter Curtis to release new musical recording Guitarist/Composer Peter Curtis to release "Love U: The College Musical" An album of songs from the original musical, for which Curtis wrote the music and lyrics. Release Date: September 10th, 2024 "Curtis stimulates rather than spoon feeds the listener, displaying a nimble imagination, a controlled verve and an impeccable technique that allows ideas to flow" - Frank Hadley, Downbeat "Peter Curtis puts a lot of thought and a lot of heart into his playing and writing. He has a beautiful sound, particularly on the acoustic guitar where his classical training comes through even in this jazz context." - Guitarist Mike Stern Peter Curtis's new album is a complete departure from his previous releases. After four albums that feature him as a jazz guitarist, his new album showcases his abilities as a composer, lyricist and arranger as well as guitarist. Love U: The College Musical is an album of songs from a musical for which he wrote the music and lyrics. The show has been performed at the University of Redlands and Riverside City College. It is a musical comedy set in, and satirizing, the academic world. Curtis, who has been a professor of music at Riverside City College, since 2001, says that the academic world is "rife with opportunities for satire". The songs bear the influences of classic Tin Pan Alley composers from the great American songbook as well as styles ranging from klezmer, American folk music and bossa nova. The lyrics are clever, urbane and frequently very funny. "I have played in the pit for a lot of musicals" Curtis said "and started dreaming about writing one of my own. Because so many of the standards that jazz musicians like me play come from musicals from the Tin Pan Alley era, that style of popular song was a huge influence". The show's book was written by Curtis's friend and family member, the late Montreal author Joel Yanofsky. The album is dedicated to him. Peter Curtis has performed and recorded with great jazz and blues musicians including Taj Mahal, Freddy Cole and James Moody. He has performed throughout Europe and in Canada, the US and Japan. About Peter Curtis Peter Curtis is a guitarist and composer. He has performed or recorded with notable jazz and blues musicians including Claudia Acuna, James Carter, Freddy Cole, Taj Mahal, Barbra Morrison and James Moody. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, in jazz clubs in the US and Canada, and on Black Entertainment Television. In Europe, some of the venues at which he has appeared include A-Trane in Berlin, Sounds in Brussels, The Jazz Garden in Budapest, Jazz Club in Florence, Der Regentenkammer in the Hague, Jumpin' Jazz Ballroom in Milan, Studio Des Islettes in Paris, Reduta in Prague and The Gig in Zurich. He has also performed in Japan. His latest album is Love U: The College Musical. It is an album of songs from a show for which Peter wrote the music, lyrics and did the arrangements. Along with a group of top Los Angeles musicians and singers, Peter can be heard on the album playing guitar and singing the role of the character Solly Waldorf. The show is a romantic comedy set in and satirizing the academic world - a world rich with opportunities for satire. It has been performed at the University of Redlands, Riverside City College and at a staged reading at the Segal Centre in Montreal. The show's book was written by the late Montreal writer Joel Yanofsky, to whom the album is dedicated. Peter's first album is a quartet record called Swing State. His second album is Christmas with Your Jewish Boyfriend, which is a recording of Christmas songs by Jewish songwriters played on solo jazz guitar. The title track of that album is an original on which Peter also sings. His album Steele in Love is a recording he made with 92 year old crooner Ken Steele and bassist Baba Elefante. His last release was Pete's Pandemic Playlist. It is a collection of songs that seemed appropriate for the pandemic played on solo jazz guitar. The album includes "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "Armageddon" and "Don't Fence Me In". As a classical guitarist Peter has given recitals in the U.S. and Canada and was awarded the Andres Segovia memorial scholarship from the Banff Centre for the Arts. He received his Bachelor of Music degree Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music, a Masters of Music degree from Yale University, and a Doctor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance and Literature with minor fields in Ethnomusicology and Music History from Indiana University. Dr. Curtis is a tenured, Professor of Music at Riverside City College in Riverside, California. write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |