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About Caleb Wheeler Curtis

Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis and Jason Moran: Incantation

Read "Incantation" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
October 19, 2026

The lineage of high-powered jazz duos runs from Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines's “Weather Bird" to Jason Moran and Caleb Wheeler Curtis. Where the earlier performance was a contest between two masters, the style here is conversational and exploratory. Across its 12 tracks, Incantation moves fluidly between free improvisation, original compositions, and affectionate engagements with jazz heritage. Curtis's soprano saxophone can turn sinuously lyrical, while the stritch--the straight alto saxophone associated with Rahsaan Roland Kirk--offers a darker, reedier, ...

Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis: Ritual

Read "Ritual" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
April 16, 2026

Alla testa di un gruppo nuovo di zecca (le incisioni risalgono all'ottobre 2025) che evolve dal quartetto fino al sestetto, il polistrumentista newyorchese Caleb Wheeler Curtis confeziona un album (il sesto a suo nome) dai colori piuttosto decisi, sia sui brani più tirati che, anche, su quelli più compassati (almeno parzialmente): non manca mai qualcosa in grado di accendere la musica, già per suo conto alquanto solare, aperta, estroversa, non esente da una spina dorsale funkeggiante, anche per la presenza ...

Album Review

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

Read "Walk A Mile In My Shoe" reviewed by Steve Plever

by Steve Plever
August 4, 2025

A glance through the track list--with covers of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye and two swing-era vocal standards--could give you the wrong impression. Yes, this is a very accessible and soulful album, but it is serious and heartfelt jazz, with Orrin Evans' personal stamp making it work. Blues, soul and gospel sounds share the stage here with swing, straight-ahead and avant-garde influences--no surprise given Evans' decade of playing with the Mingus Big Band. Evans' piano sets the tone ...

Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis: The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Deluxe Edition)

Read "The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Deluxe Edition)" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
March 24, 2025

Musicista non ancora quarantenne, da noi poco conosciuto,Caleb Wheeler Curtis sassofonista, trombettista, compositore newyorchese, licenzia il suo album più ambizioso, un doppio CD che già dal titolo fa presagire qualcosa di assai lontano da un rassicurante mainstream. The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery, questo il titolo (ogni riferimento a Frank Zappa è puramente casuale), è un doppio CD che presenta due differenti trii, registrati a pochi mesi di distanza. Nel primo, che porta ...

Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis: The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Deluxe Edition)

Read "The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Deluxe Edition)" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
November 15, 2024

Caleb Wheeler Curtis is one of the more daring musicians in jazz today, not only in his approach to playing the saxophone, but in his fearless dedication to his own musical conceptions, expressed clearly in his original compositions. That daring and dedication can be equally attributed to many of the shakers and movers of modern jazz, including one Thelonious Sphere Monk. On his double album release, The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Imani, 2024), Curtis ...

Album Review

Caleb Wheeler Curtis: The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Deluxe Edition)

Read "The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Deluxe Edition)" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
November 12, 2024

There has always been room in jazz for those creative minds who can bridge the gap between the heart of tradition and the leading edge of change. In the world of saxophonists, Thomas Chapin, Arthur Blythe, Julius Hemphill or David Murray easily come to mind. Multi-instrumentalist Caleb Wheeler Curtis has similarly explored this terrain for years, and like his forebears, he often does his best work in a trio format. His August in March (Imani Records, 2023) was an imaginative ...

Catching Up With

Monk Meets Bears on Caleb Wheeler Curtis's Latest

by Lawrence Peryer
November 2, 2024

Caleb Wheeler Curtis, the Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, is set to release his most ambitious project yet. The upcoming double album not only showcases his considerable talents but also reimagines the music of Thelonious Monk for modern listeners. The new release with the intriguing title The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Imani Records), manifests Curtis's creative restlessness through a willingness to place his own compositions side-by-side with a great. A Tale of ...