Review: CURTIS STIGERS Plays City Winery NYC

On October 15th Curtis Stigers played a very generous two-act set of music at City Winery, starting out all alone on the stage with his guitar in a fabulous fake-out that might have led one to believe it was just going to be an intimate night with Curtis Stigers, but after three numbers some fellow musicians took their place alongside the singer/songwriter/musician who can genuinely play and sing any kind of music in the world, and a good evening of music went from good to great.  The show, a very laid-back event, featured songs from Stigers’ long career, some of them from early albums, some from his latest, and all played to perfection by Mr. Stigers, pianist Randy Ingram, bassist Cliff Schmitt, and trumpeter John “Scrapper” Sneider.  Truthfully, Mr. Stigers could easily have just played the entire set by himself, switching off between his guitar and his saxophone, but every party is better with more people, and the other three men on the stage with him made the music all that much better.

Curtis Stigers has always been a great musician, and always one of the most impressive male vocalists around.  His albums have been consistently enjoyable discs of fine musicianship and beautiful sounds, but when you are in a room with him and can hear the true beauty and power of his voice, it makes more rich he listening experience, especially when observing the transition from acoustic to full band.  Opening number “Sleeping With The Lights On” gives the audience a chance to find the vibe of the night and when, three songs in, you think you have a handle on the night, that acoustic set turns into a mixture of jazz, rock, and soul, it’s difficult to not smile at the artistry (although it has to be said that the Stigers and guitar performance of “End of the Afternoon” was an evening highlight, steeped in simplicity and sensuality, ease and emotion).  With the band fully in place, it was time to party.

For his set, Mr. Stigers had several highly enjoyable numbers, especially an arrangement of his track from THE BODYGUARD soundtrack, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding” that is more appropriate to this stage of his game and the soulful jazz music for which he is so highly regarded, a fascinating a capella performance of “John the Revelator,” and Act One closer, “Centerpiece,” which showed off all the band members to their greatest advantage.  It should be said, though, that Mr. Sneider was the true eye-opener of the evening - every note from his trumpet inspired this writer to go right home and Google search all of the gentleman’s upcoming appearances.

Something else that warrants saying, as gently as possible, is that Mr. Stigers did not come across, in his spoken portions of the evening, as well as he did during the musical numbers.  He seemed to be a little grumpy, slightly irritable, maybe even entitled, during moments in the program when he scolded the audience for talking (much of which was done in the process of ordering food and drinks from their waiters) or filming the show (which is simply unavoidable in this day and age).  It would be nice if we lived in a world where people still wanted to pay close attention to a show (of any variety) or watch without whipping out their iPhones, but we don’t, and having a headliner stand onstage and reprimand the people who paid to be there is a bit of a turn off.  If going to a show means you’re going to be scolded for talking to your waiter, you might just as well stay home and listen to a CD.  The unfortunate effect was to distract from the superior quality of the program being played and the majesty of Curtis Stigers’ voice and musicianship, which remains some of the best this writer has ever heard, either on a recording or in person.  It might be worth giving another try on a day when the gentleman, a longtime favorite of this writer, is in a better mood.  After all, everyone has a bad day.  Maybe that’s what happened on October 15th, when Curtis Stigers’ onstage behavior overshadowed his musical artistry, which is a real shame, because he truly is one of the best in the industry.

Find shows of all varieties on the City Winery website HERE.

Visit the online presence for Curtis Stigers HERE, Randy Ingram HERE, John Sneider HERE, and Cliff Schmitt HERE.