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Curtis Stigers: Creating new jazz standards from contemporary

Justin Steyer
/
KPLU
Curtis Stigers performing live in the KPLU Seattle Studios on September 11, 2012.

Curtis Stigers is a singer, songwriter, saxophonist who loves the great Tin Pan Alley songs of George Gershwin and Cole Porter, but finds a greater creative challenge in doing jazz versions of songs by more contemporary songwriters. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWE_wx93KR0

In this studio session with jazz host, Abe Beeson, Curtis puts a jazz twist to songs by David Poe and Richard Thompson.  He ends the session with one of his own compositions, a tribute to his late mentor, jazz pianist Gene Harris.

Justin joined KNKX in 2009 as the station's first Multimedia Manager. In this role, Justin helped to produce multimedia content, and implement systems and procedures in efforts to transform KNKX from a traditional broadcast station into a multi-platform media organization.
Abe grew up in Western Washington, a third generation Seattle/Tacoma kid. It was as a student at Pacific Lutheran University that Abe landed his first job at KNKX, editing and producing audio for news stories. It was a Christmas Day shift no one else wanted that gave Abe his first on-air experience which led to overnights, then Saturday afternoons, and started hosting Evening Jazz in 1998.