Curlew is an American experimental

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

group founded by

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

player George Cartwright in 1979.Tilland, William & Lynch, Dave
Curlew Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved 2011-01-26 Members of the band have included cellist

Tom Cora Thomas Henry Corra (September 14, 1953 – April 9, 1998), better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his Free improvisation, improvisational performances in the field of Experimental music, experimental jazz ...

, drummer Pippin Barnett, guitarists

Davey Williams David Carlous Williams (November 2, 1927 – August 17, 2009) was an American professional baseball player and coach. During his Major League Baseball career, spent entirely with the New York Giants of the National League, the second baseman app ...

and

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...

, and bassist

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

Discography

* ''

Curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been infl ...

'' (1981, Landslide) ** George Cartwright saxes and flute;

cello;

bass;

Nicky Skopelitis Nicky Skopelitis (born January 19, 1960) is an American guitarist and composer of Greek descent. He also has performed on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments. Although Skopelitis has recorded few albums as a bandleader, he has app ...

guitar; Bill Bacon drums. **Note: The double CD release includes ''Live At CBGBs'' 1980, with the same lineup except for the drummer, who is

Denardo Coleman Denardo Ornette Coleman (born April 19, 1956) is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of Ornette Coleman and Jayne Cortez. Biography Born to Jayne Cortez and Ornette Coleman in Los Angeles, California, in 1956,

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

's son. * ''North America'' (1985,

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (distric ...

) **George Cartwright saxes; Tom Cora cello, accordion;

bass, guitar, and producer, Mark Howell guitar; Rick Brown drums; J. Pippin Barnett drums. Guests

Butch Morris Lawrence Douglas "Butch" Morris (February 10, 1947 – January 29, 2013) was an American cornetist, composer and conductor. He was known for pioneering his structural improvisation method, ''Conduction'', which he utilized on many recordings. ...

cornet,

Polly Bradfield Polly Bradfield is an American violinist from the New York City free improvisation scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her closest musical associates were Eugene Chadbourne and John Zorn. She also played on records by William Parker (musici ...

violin. * ''Live in Berlin'' (1986,

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

) **George Cartwright saxes; Tom Cora cello;

Wayne Horvitz Wayne Horvitz (born September 1, 1955) is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer. He came to prominence in the Downtown scene of 1980s and '90s New York City, where he met his future wife, the singer, songwriter and pianist Robi ...

keyboards and keyboard bass;

guitar; Pippin Barnett drums. * ''Bee'' (1990, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Tom Cora cello; Ann Rupel bass; Davey Williams guitar; Pippin Barnett drums. * ''A Beautiful Western Saddle'' (1993, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Tom Cora cello; Ann Rupel bass; Davey Williams guitar; Pippin Barnett drums;

Amy Denio Amy Denio (born June 9, 1961) is a Seattle-based multi-instrumental composer of soundtracks for modern dance, film and theater, as well as a songwriter and music improviser. Her inspirations include world music, and is mainly known as a vocali ...

vocals ( Paul Haines lyrics). **Note: The double-disc CD/DVD release includes ''The Hardwood'', originally released as a VHS, having video footage from two 1991 concerts, NYC and Washington DC, with the five piece lineup of Cartwright, Cora, Rupel, Williams, Barnett * ''Paradise'' (1995, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Ann Rupel bass; Davey Williams guitar; Chris Cochrane guitar; Samm Bennett drums. Guest: Jim Spake baritone and sopranino saxes * ''Fabulous Drop'' (1998, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Ann Rupel bass; Davey Williams guitar; Chris Cochrane guitar; Kenny Wolleson drums. * ''Meet the Curlews!'' (2002, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Fred Chalenor bass; Davey Williams guitar; Bruce Golden drums; Chris Parker piano and electric piano * ''Mercury'' (2003, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Fred Chalenor bass; Dean Granros guitar; Bruce Golden drums; Chris Parker piano and electric piano * ''Gussie'' ive 2001(2003, Roaratorio) **George Cartwright saxes; Fred Chalenor bass; Davey Williams guitar; Bruce Golden drums; Chris Parker piano and electric piano * ''Curlew CBGS's 1987'' (2022, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxes; Tom Cora cello; Davey Williams guitar; Ann Rupel bass; Pippin Barnett drums * ''Live at Phantasmagoria and WFMU'' (2022, Cuneiform) **George Cartwright saxophones; Davey Williams guitar; Chris Cochrane guitar; Ann Rupel bass; Kenny Wollesen drums

References

External links

Official Site

2010 George Cartwright interview on Outsight Radio Hours
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curlew American jazz ensembles Cuneiform Records artists Moers Music artists