Gig review: Curtis Stigers, Edinburgh Queen’s Hall
Fair to say that the singer hasn’t done too badly in his new career.
He is not an improvising jazz singer in the mould of, say, Mark Murphy or Kurt Elling. His stylistically approach is rooted in a combination of rhythm and blues and pop ballads, with a leavening of jazz phrasing and rhythm, a combination that proved both entertaining and effective.
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Hide AdThat mixture was reflected in his choice of material, which alternated uptempo rhythm and blues tunes with poignant ballads (he likes sad songs).
Highlights included back-to-back interpretations of Bob Dylan’s Things Have Changed and Richard Thompson’s Waltzing’s For Dreamers, proof in themselves that he knows a great song when he hears one. A rather splashy version of John Lennon’s Jealous Guy, with just the trio for company, delved deepest into jazz idioms, but didn’t really suit the song.
Songs by Eddie Floyd and Steve Earle broadened the stylistic frame of reference into soul and country, and he included one of his own songs, You Got The Fever, amid the well-chosen covers.
Rating: ***