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Caleb Wheeler Curtis

Brooklyn based, Ann Arbor (MI) born, musician Caleb Curtis has shown himself to be an engaging saxophonist and composer that “lives at the junction of rigorous preparation and willingness to explore.” (Jazz Speaks) His playing and compositions are informed by a wide swath of the jazz tradition, at times introspective, brash and melodic. Legendary pianist Mulgrew Miller said “Caleb has a wonderful, singing, projecting sound. To me, that’s the ultimate for a horn player.” His new album Brothers (produced by Orrin Evans and featuring Josh Lawrence, Eric Revis, Luques Curtis, Mark Whitfield Jr. and Seamus Blake) was recently released on Imani Records. Neighborhood (Ropeadope Records), the 2015 debut album from the Brooklyn based collective quartet Walking Distance, for which Caleb composes and plays alto saxophone, was met with critical acclaim. Their new album Freebird (featuring Jason Moran) is on Sunnyside Records. The New York Times says (about Freebird) that Walking Distance “tears into the new stuff it has created, sounding ageless.”

After studying music at Michigan State University and William Paterson University Caleb has become an active member of the New York City jazz and creative music scene. He can be seen with the Caleb Curtis Quartet, Walking Distance, Josh Lawrence and Color Theory, Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Curtis/Sperrazza/Garabedian, Asterids Alto Quartet, the Fat Cat Big Band, the Mike Sailors Nonet, and the Gregorio Uribe Big Band. He has performed at the Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Smalls, Smoke, Zinc Bar, and many other NYC clubs. Caleb has developed an individualistic approach to improvisation and sound, and has been hailed as “one of the most interesting altoists in a long time.” (Jazzwise)

In addition, Caleb has played with many extraordinary musicians including Jason Moran, Mulgrew Miller, Duane Eubanks, Houston Person, Orrin Evans, Eric Revis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kevin Eubanks, Buster Williams, Lenny White, Gene Jackson, Jack Walrath, Kevin Hays, Saul Rubin, David Gibson, Lafayette Harris, Ralph Bowen, Ben Williams, Justin Brown, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Gregorio Uribe, Ben Wolfe, Luques Curtis, Seamus Blake, Marquis Hill, Marta Sánchez, Stacy Dillard, Jon Irabagon, EJ Strickland, Matt Clohesy, Vinnie Sperrazza, Jeremy Siskind, Glenn Zaleski and many others.

Caleb is a D’Addario Woodwinds Artist

Gear

Selmer Mark VI, 151xxx


Tags

7
Album Review

Michelle Lordi: Two Moons

Read "Two Moons" reviewed by Geno Thackara


The art of the jazz diva does not shy away from the dark and mysterious. From putting a spell on somebody to helplessly falling under that old black magic, the tradition always seems to include some small touch of witchery, and Michelle Lordi, for her part, does not let a modern-day sound obscure those roots. The mood of Two Moons sits somewhere between a late-night set in a small jazz club and a round of spooky stories around the campfire. ...

5
Album Review

Ember: August in March

Read "August in March" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Reflective of its enigmatic title, the members of Ember--saxophonist/trumpeter Caleb Wheeler Curtis, bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer {Vincent Sperrazza--have created something both oblique and accessible on the group's third release, August in March. With an emphasis on well designed, engaging pieces that lead into a distinctive world of close collaboration, this is music that rewards undivided attention. Aside from a few turns on the trumpet on the winding, slithering “Snake Tune," the elliptical “Sink and Swim," and the ...

2
Radio & Podcasts

EMBER Are A Jazz Trio With A Collective Mindset

Read "EMBER Are A Jazz Trio With A Collective Mindset" reviewed by Lawrence Peryer


Today, the Spotlight shines On EMBER, a trio featuring saxophonist and trumpeter Caleb Wheeler Curtis, bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. Their album, August in March (Imani Records), is “a vivid representation of the musical, interpersonal and community-oriented ideas that the three forward-thinking musicians that make up EMBER...care deeply about." This conversation explores the heady thematic elements of EMBER's music: humanism, community, place, and the importance of being a band of equals. Stick around after ...

1
Radio & Podcasts

New Music From Ember, Itamar Borochov, Michael Echaniz, And More

Read "New Music From Ember, Itamar Borochov, Michael Echaniz, And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


On this show we present new music from Ember (Caleb Wheeler Curtis, Noah Garabedian and Vincent Sperrazza), Itamar Borochov, Michael Echaniz, Alex Louloudis & Zack Clarke, Melmac, Škvíry & Spoje, Gaea Schell, Rubim de Toledo, Steve Carrington, Heikki Ruokangas with Landon George and Jouni Isoherranen, and, Chuck Owen & WDR Big Band.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Ember “Snake Tune" from August In March (Imani Records) 00:54 Itamar Borochov “What Broke You?" from Arba (Greenleaf) 07:46 Michael Echaniz “Seven Shades ...

26
Radio & Podcasts

An Eclectic Selection Of New Releases

Read "An Eclectic Selection Of New Releases" reviewed by Bob Osborne


On this week's show a host of new releases from Caleb Wheeler Curtis, Chris Torkewitz, Hendrik Meurkins & The WDR Big Band, The Relay, Kate Wyatt, Alessandro Sgobbio, Robert Lee and Pablo Moser. There are also two brand new albums from Gordon Grdina, the reissue of a 20 year live recording from Peter Brötzmann, Milford Graves, and William Parker, and music from 2018 from Helena Kay's KIM Trio.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Caleb Wheeler Curtis “Tossed Aside" from HEAT ...

10
Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis: Heatmap

Read "Heatmap" reviewed by Paul Rauch


It is mostly troublesome to make blanket assertions about jazz and the musicians that facilitate the art form. Such assertions are subjective at best, yet it would not seem unreasonable to assert that Caleb Wheeler Curtis is one of the more interesting alto saxophonists to emerge since 2000. His playing has a radiant, vocal quality to it, whether addressing strong melodies, or abstractions of the same. His approach is strong without being forced, and while his musical spirit has an ...

2
Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis and Laurent Nicoud: Substrate

Read "Substrate" reviewed by Paul Rauch


The duo, in jazz or any musical form, is an intimate conversation that requires a large degree of artistic courage. The participants must be willing to expose themselves emotionally as well as musically. It is brutally honest, a practice in individuality within the context of mutual respect and humility. In the case of Swiss pianist Laurent Nicoud and Brooklyn based alto saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis, it is a venture into the musical wilderness without being safely tethered to the efforts ...

Read more articles
"explosive altoist" – The New York Times

"Saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis negotiates taut, bop-flavored contours with a meld of Desmond-like coolness and blues-toughened acerb" – JazzTimes

"Color Theory introduces one of the most interesting altoists in a long time in Caleb Curtis" – Jazzwise

"wields his sax like a weapon of mass destruction" – The Classical Arts

Primary Instrument

Saxophone

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

Jazz Saxophone Instructor - Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (MI) 2008 & 2009 Jazz Saxophone & Improvisation teacher - Ann Arbor Music Center (MI) 2008 Bachelor Of Music in Jazz Studies - Michigan State University Rates are: $50 for one hour, $30 for half hour

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

August in March

Imani Records
2023

buy

Two Moons

Self Produced
2023

buy

Substrate

Unit Records
2022

buy

Heatmap

Imani
2022

buy

Spring

Sunnyside Records
2022

buy

Ain't No Storm

Imani / 88 Keys Productions
2021

buy

Surrounding

From: Heatmap
By Caleb Wheeler Curtis

Paradise

From: Paradise
By Caleb Wheeler Curtis

Videos

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