Songwriter and saxophonist Curtis Stigers has been bringing the worlds of old-school pop and big band jazz together in his own music for the last three decades (along with touches of nearly every other genre one could call to mind). On his twelfth album and ninth release for Concord Records, One More for the Road, Stigers captures the rare alchemy of hipness, elegance, playfulness and feeling that made Frank Sinatra’s renditions of these songs immortal while adding his own unique twist.
Stigers’ wildly diverse career has never stopped taking interesting turns ever since he released his self-titled 1991 debut on Clive Davis’ Arista Records, spawning the hit singles “I Wonder Why,” “You’re All That Matters to Me” and “Never Saw a Miracle.” He also contributed a cover of Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” to the soundtrack of The Bodyguard, which went on to sell more than 40 million copies. During the next decade he released two more genre-blurring albums, always letting his jazz roots bleed over into his pop, soul, blues and Americana endeavors.
As the millennium turned, beginning with Baby Plays Around in 2001, Stigers released a series of that explore the full range of his musical interests, often giving a classic jazz spin to rock, pop and country songs by everyone from Sting and Paul Simon to Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.
His restless imagination has also led him into a variety of unusual opportunities, including recording a version of Cole Porter’s “Well, Did You Evah!” with Seth McFarlane, creator of Family Guy and American Dad, who then invited Stigers to make a cameo in his movie Ted and perform a song in Ted 2. Stigers also co-wrote and sang the theme song for the acclaimed TV show Sons of Anarchy, which earned him an Emmy nomination, and made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Today Show, among other television programs worldwide.