Curtis Roush

Member Since: 2026 | Location: Auckland | Page Views: 65

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About Me

Curtis Roush is a jazz fusion composer/producer in Auckland NZ.

Curtis Roush started playing piano and violin at a very early age. Formal piano lessons started when he was 4 y.o. By the fourth grade he phased out of the lessons as he found the required recitals to be too frightening. Around that time his older sister was listening to The Beatles and he was immediately hooked. He decided that he wanted to play in a band so he went to work mowing lawns for the entire neighborhood so he could buy a guitar. Through junior high and high school he played in various rock bands, first as a guitarist, then switching back to keyboards. In his high school senior year he moved to San Diego CA (from his hometown of Sheridan WY) where he attended his first large rock concert. He went to hear Black Sabbath but the opening band, Gentle Giant, changed his life for ever. He was instantly hooked on progressive rock. Soon he was deep into progressive bands such as Yes and Frank Zappa and later, in his early 20’s, joined a jazz fusion band in Sacramento CA where he also started taking some music classes at Sacramento State University. At 23 Curtis entered the Berklee College of Music in Boston MA. After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in film scoring he moved to Los Angeles in 1981 where he soon obtained work as a film music editor. Over the next 33 years, he worked on over 100 feature films with some of the most sought after composers of the time including Mark Isham and Dave Grusin (see IMDB link below). Curtis retired from the film business in 2014 and began playing in blues, jazz, and by 2019, a couple of jazz fusion bands for which he also was composing music. When Covid closed down Los Angeles he continued to write and produce jazz fusion in his home studio. Curtis moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 2023 and when he’s not trekking forest and coastal trails with his wife he continues to compose and produce - - what else? Jazz Fusion. On 10, June, 2026 Curtis released his progressive jazz fusion album, Outside the In-Box.

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Favorite Musicians / Bands

Brad Mehldau

Yellowjackets

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it invites serious listening where one is able to climb into the music and journey through the brain and imagination of the composer or player. The best show I ever attended was a tie between Gentle Giant at the San Diego Sports arena and Miles Davis (the Tutu band) at the Hollywood Bowl. The first jazz record I bought was Bill Evans, Symbiosis. My advice to new listeners is to don't worry about what you don't understand but collect some reputable works and seriously listen to them several times as good jazz gets better with every listen and when you can, go hear it live.