Curtis Stigers’ music is like taking the most stylized parts of the sound defined by the yuppie generation, throwing it into a blender and putting it on puree. His sound features screeching sax solos the upbeat drive typical of Huey Lewis and at times silky smooth jazz departures in the vein of Kenny G.
Curtis Stigers is a multitalented musician. He not only writes his music, he performs it as well. He is an accomplished saxophonist, guitarist and vocalist. He has even mastered several types of vocal styles, such as jazz and pop which are frequently heard throughout his catalogue. Stigers was initially trained as a jazz musician so it is no surprise that this style seeps into his current sound. Though his roots are in jazz music his goal was to become a rockstar. His drive towards this more extreme form of music is captured in the aggressive overtones in his sound and displayed on his more raw straightforward song structures evidenced in tracks like “Sleeping With the Lights On”. Despite Stigers’ dabbling in pop music he never strayed too far from jazz. During the beginning of his career he moonlighted in a jazz band when he wasn’t putting on rock shows. In 2001 he eventually made a return to jazz and performed standards and variations of pop songs in a caret-esque style.
Though Stigers is known first and foremost for his 90s work (during this time period he had five hit records) there has been somewhat of a resurgent in his career. New generations discover his music year after year and in great part due to its placement in film. His classic soul rock sound can be heard on “The Bodygaurd”, “Dawson Creek” and “Sons of Anarchy” for which his song “This Life” has become the shows theme. Stigers’ shift in sound is captured in his live performances and offer the audience a great opportunity to experience the diversity of his career. He plays everything from his 1990s self-titled album to his latest Jazz recordings and blends them in his setlist as smoothly as steamed milk mixes in with chai tea.