Photo by Andrea Canter

Known for years as a pleasing pop crooner and adequate sax player, Stigers has reached new heights as a legitimate jazz interpreter and increasingly effective tenorist. While his fans still call out requests for his classic hits (“Baby Plays Around”) and covers (“Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?”), the Boise, Idaho native marvelously keeps jazz standards (“All the Things You Are”) and his original tunes (“Swinging Down at 10^th and Main”) out front. Although it really doesn’t matter what’s on the play list—Curtis Stigers sings Curtis Stigers, from deep baritone to high tenor, from wailing blues to sensuous ballad to—yes, even “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” On stage, his face moves across a galaxy of emotion as seamlessly as does his voice; the elasticity of his phrasing allows just the right note to linger in mid-air, lending support to the New York Times’ suggestion that Stigers “may be the most convincing ballad singer in jazz.” “Elastic phrasing” is also an apt description of Stigers’ efforts on tenor sax, which he delightfully interspersed with his vocals throughout the night, his scratchy vibrato adding funk to John Sebastian’s classic “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind” and putting the swing into his Gene Harris tribute, “Swinging Down at 10^th and Main.”

Photo by Andrea Canter

Drawing his Dakota set list from his past recordings and new material from the just-released I Think It’s Going to Rain Today, Stigers covered Willie Dixon and Willie Nelson, Joe Jackson and Bob Dylan, Kern and Hammerstein and Lennon and McCartney, as well as original works. Take any tune in the broadly defined popular canon and Stigers creates what is unquestionably jazz interpretation. Nothing is out of bounds. Dedicating the tune to diehard Twins fan and local jazz critic Tom Surowicz, Stigers hit a home run with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”—scatting his way through baseball’s theme song, and creating what ought to become a new jazz standard. But the stage did not belong to Stigers alone, but also to his fine rhythm section of Matthew Fries (piano), Phil Palombi (bass), and Keith Hall (drums). This is a tight group that has meshed well over several years of touring, and their mutual respect and empathy are palpable. So much so, in fact, that this threesome recently released their own trio recording, self-titled Tri-Fi (2005).

Photo by Andrea Canter

Pianist Matthew Fries studied with the great jazz pianist, Donald Brown, which may explain his engaging swing. Winner of the 1997 Great American Piano Competition, he’s been described in the New York Times “as the best jazz accompaniment I've seen in a cabaret in years." Familiar to many through his work with Stacey Kent as well as Curtis Stigers, he also appears on local bass legend Gordy Johnson’s latest Trios, 3.0 recording. Fries’ two-handed improvisations and bubbling stride-tinged gambits were both fun to watch and apparently fun to play. The late Gene Harris was surely smiling at his turns on “Swinging Down at Tenth and Main,” but Fries was equally effective on ballads.

Photo by Andrea Canter

Phil Palombi is a veteran bassist who has served the likes of Toshiko Akiyoshi, Michael Brecker, Maynard Ferguson, Etta Jones, Chris Potter, and Chucho Valdes. His cross-genre experience with funk, R & B, and Brazilian pop bands as well as jazz is apparent in his support of Stiger’s wide repertoire. With his penchant for placement of key single notes, Palombi particularly shined on the ballads (“All the Things You Are” and “Don’t Think Twice” in particular), but he really cut loose with his plucks and slaps on “Swinging Down at 10^th and Main.”

One of the most entertaining drummers on the Dakota stage in recent months, Keith Hall has chops and fuel to hit the after-burner zone. An alum of Betty Carter’s “Jazz Ahead,” Hall (also known as "The Reverend of Swing") has the fastest hands I’ve seen since Steve Smith, “churning” the skins as noted by John Fordham (The Guardian) and giving the audience a lot to watch as well as hear. His knock-out round on “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind” suggests he could have been a successful rock drummer, but jazz is much the better for his choice.

Photo by Andrea Canter

Finally, although music was indeed the main attraction, Curtis Stigers is a full-service act, bringing warmth and humor to his interactions with the audience and his story-telling. Over time he seems more and more comfortable as an entertainer as well as musician, but he never loses sight of the fact that it is the music first and foremost that is the source of entertainment. And it is undeniably his music, no matter who penned the tune or lyrics. His history as a pop artist notwithstanding, Curtis Stigers has most definitely arrived as one of the most engaging and creative jazz vocalists on the scene today. And not a bad sax player, either.