As a teen growing up in Boise, Idaho, Stigers’s adventures in music started out with the clarinet, then drums, and finally sax and voice. Although already interested in jazz, his direction jelled when pianist Gene Harris (known for his work with the Three Sounds, Stanley Turrentine, and Nat Adderley) moved to Boise and took an interest in Stigers as both mentor and friend. Coaxed out of retirement by Ray Brown in the mid-80s, Harris had performed regularly at a local hotel in Boise and let Stigers sit-in from the age of 15. “Most of all, he taught me that music is always about what you love and how you put yourself into it. He was a genuine professional music role model, and a jazz legend to boot, and you don't often get that growing up in a small town."

In 1987, Stigers left his “small town” for New York, where he soon had a contract with Arista Records. His first recording was a pop hit, selling two million and leading to appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman, as well as tours with Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and Rod Stewart. In 1992 he had another pop hit when his rendition of Nick Lowe’s "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding" was included on the soundtrack of The Body Guard. After tours with Al Green, Suzzy Roche, Carole King, Jackson Browne and others, Stigers turned back to jazz. "I realized jazz was what I needed to be doing," he says. "I wanted to return to my roots." He performed with Toots Thielemans, Jimmy Scott, and Randy Brecker, and in a sax choir with Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Grover Washington, and Gerry Mulligan for President Bill Clinton's 1993 Inauguration. In the mid-90s, Stigers’ mentor Gene Harris invited him to sing on two recordings, the gospel CD In His Hands and Down Home Blues with Brother Jack McDuff.

His own first jazz recording, Baby Plays Around (Concord, 2001), earned Stigers rave reviews as "a jazz singer in the best sense" (San Francisco Chronicle). Mojo noted that "Stigers manages to be both as authoritative as a veteran and as fresh as an ingenue." He followed up with Secret Heart (Concord, 2002), covering Steve Earle, Randy Newman, Cole Porter, and Johnny Mercer. His latest release, You Inspire Me (Concord, 2003), is "first and foremost …about the songs," says Stigers. "Great songs by modern songwriters who have inspired me. This album is a little less straight-ahead than my previous releases, more experimental. More twisted.”

On his Midwest tour, audiences at the Dakota and Green Mill can expect new twists on standards, widely diverse tunes from modern music, and inspired original songs, in a voice described as “a blend of Nat King Cole and Mose Allison without the irony” (London Guardian), “a potent blend of Sting and Jimmy Scott” (Jazz Times), “a bebop Ray Charles” (Mojo), and “his generation's answer to Tony Bennett” (Minneapolis Star Tribune).

Or in other words, Curtis Stigers brings his own voice to the stage.

European travelers should note Stigers will be touring in the United Kingdom in October and in Germany, Copenhagen and Stockholm in November. For more information, see www.curtisstigers.com