Mike Curtis (b. 1952)

 

Mike Curtis is a celebrated musician and composer. His lyrical performances on clarinet, saxophones, bassoon, oboe, and tarogato have enchanted audiences in North America and around the world. He has played in symphonies (Mexico City, Bay Area), operas (Portland, Phoenix) and for numerous sound and film productions. Mike Curtis began his klezmer career in 1982, succeeding the great Joel Rubin in the Hester Street Klezmer Band. Since then, his playing has taken him across Europe and Asia, including to the Krakow and Birobidjian Jewish Music Festivals. He has recorded with Oomph Intercontinental Klezmer (CD: Between Two Worlds), his own Mike Curtis Klezmer Quartet (CD: Street Song), and the Klezmonauts. His jazz experience includes five years as Director of Jazz Studies at Oregon State University and performances with Charlie Rouse and Anthony Braxton, among others.