Robert Harry Curnow (born November 1, 1941) is an American musician who served as a

trombonist The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

, staff arranger and producer for the

Stan Kenton Orchestra Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

during the 1960s and 1970s.Sparke, Michael; Venudor, Peter (1998). "Stan Kenton, The Studio Sessions". Balboa Books. As a composer and arranger, he has become well known for large ensemble jazz music set to contemporary fusion and rock music of groups such as

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Blood, Sweat and Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...

, and

the Yellowjackets Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer R ...

. Most notably, he arranged the music for and produced the award-winning and critically acclaimed CD, ''Bob Curnow's L.A. Big Band Plays The Music of

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

and

Lyle Mays Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awar ...

.''Review (2000). ''The Music of Pat Metheny''. Jazz Journal International, vol. 53, page 31.Review (1995). ''The Music of Pat Metheny''. CD Review Magazine, vol. 11, Volume 11, Issue 10, page 13. His compositions and arrangements are heavily influenced by earlier writers for the

such as

Pete Rugolo Pietro Rugolo (December 25, 1915 – October 16, 2011), known professionally as Pete Rugolo, was an American jazz composer, arranger, and record producer. Life and career Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily. His family emigrated to the ...

Bill Russo William Joseph Russo (June 25, 1928 – January 11, 2003) was an American composer, arranger, and musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States. History A student of jazz pianist Lennie Tristano, Russo wrote orchestral scores for the Stan Ke ...

Johnny Richards Johnny Richards (born Juan Manuel Cascales, November 2, 1911 – October 7, 1968) was an American jazz arranger and composer scoring numerous sound tracks for television and film. He was a pivotal composer/arranger for cutting edge, adventur ...

and Bill Holman.Steven Harris. ''The Kenton Kronicles'' Dynaflow Publications. 2000. pp. 266-268 Curnow is currently owner and President of Sierra Music Publications, Inc., he is also prominent in the instrumental music and

jazz education Each style and era of jazz adopted new techniques to help educate younger musicians. Early forms of jazz education were more informal. Since the first degree program was founded in 1947, the rise of institutionalized jazz education, resulted in ja ...

fields.

Early life, musical education and influences

Bob Curnow was born and grew up in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

and was first exposed to music through learning the trumpet at age 9 but then switched to

baritone horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

. He ultimately started to play the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

at age 12. Curnow had started high school when he first heard the

with

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of " More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

on the 45 single ''Collaboration''. While in college, he met Stan Kenton in person in 1961 during the

Stan Kenton Band Clinics Stan Kenton Band Clinics were summer programs founded by Stan Kenton in 1959. Kenton conceived the idea out of concern that education of jazz and all its forms were not reaching teenagers who showed signs of interest in it. He strongly felt that ...

. Curnow worked his way through college playing the string bass and he graduated from

West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public university, public research university located in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university i ...

in May 1963.

Professional career

with Stan Kenton

On May 19 of 1963 (1 day after college graduation) Bob Curnow started as a

with the

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

Orchestra at the age of 21 touring all of the United States and the UK through the end of November; this was the last of Kenton's

Mellophonium The mellophone is a brass instrument used in marching bands and drum and bugle corps in place of French horns. It is a middle-voiced instrument, typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historical ...

Bands and the group disbanded after this tour until 1965.William F. Lee, Audree Coke Kenton (1980). ''Stan Kenton: Artistry In Rhythm''. Creative Press of Los Angeles. During this tour Curnow had arranged "

God Save The Queen "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is '' de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and ...

" for the orchestra; this would be his entry into the cadre of Kenton composers and arrangers. He recorded in the

section of the Kenton Orchestra for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

on the LP's ''Artistry In Voices And Brass'' and ''From The Creative World Of Stan Kenton Comes Jean Turner''.

Back to school and teaching

After leaving the

he did graduate work at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 47,741. The city is located immediate ...

from 1964 through 1967 earning two master's degrees and completing his doctoral course work. He served as Professor of Instrumental Music and director of the Jazz Lab bands at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

from 1967 through 1973, then becoming A&R director back with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.California Alliance for Jazz Hall of Fame, Bob Curnow bio page
/ref>

As producer for Stan Kenton

By 1971 Curnow was contacted again by

to do the arrangements for a new concept, double LP, ''National Anthems Of The World''. Kenton remembered the earlier arrangement done in 1963 of "

", this sparked the interest of Kenton and led to Curnow serving as chief arranger, conductor, and the producer for the new 1972 concept album. Though the recordings ended up being a commercial failure for the

, the project became a high point for Curnow as an arranger and record producer. After the ''National Anthems'' project Curnow stepped in on numerous dates for an ailing Kenton to conduct during that next year. In June 1973, at the age of 31, Curnow was hired as the Director of Artists & Repertoire; by August Kenton fired the general manager and Curnow was in charge of the complete Creative World operations. Starting with the LP ''7.5 On The Richter Scale'', Curnow was the producer for 6 of the final 7

studio albums for Creative World leading up to Kenton's death in August 1979. He also oversaw the re-issue of numerous LPs from Kenton's

catalogue. During this tenure with Kenton he was in charge as composer, arranger, and producer of one of the last commercial successes the band was to have with '' Stan Kenton plays Chicago''.Review: High fidelity Musical America, Volume 25, Issue 1, page 34. Billboard Pub.(1975) During this period as a younger composer, arranger and producer, Curnow was able to help usher in a new, more vital concept and style for the orchestra which helped appeal to a younger music audience of the post big band/

rock n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

era.Sparke, Michael (2010). "Stan Kenton: This Is An Orchestra". University of North Texas Press. p. 260 . Due to deteriorating business conditions with the

and Creative World Records, Curnow resigned from his post in 1976. Curnow is quoted as to the frustration he encountered, "I was burnt out...I really didn't like the record business...it's a dirty game working with the big players and all the crap that goes on there". Kenton's 1977 album ''Journey To Capricorn'' would be the last studio-produced project for the orchestra and the final LP for which Curnow served as producer for Creative World.

CSULA and the McDonald's All-American High School Band

In 1976 Curnow accepted the position as Director of Jazz Studies at

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

; he held that position until 1987. He conducted the No. 1 Jazz Ensemble, the Brass Ensemble, Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble. For eight years (1981–1989) Curnow directed the McDonald's All-American High School Jazz Band, touring the country and discovering many talented young jazz players.

Pat Metheny's music and Sierra Publishing

Curnow ultimately penned some twelve arrangements of compositions by Pat Metheny and/or Lyle Mays; the initial arrangement of Metheny's ''The First Circle'' was tested out and recorded on a critically acclaimed school jazz LP at

. These works and the resulting CD album from 1994, ''Bob Curnow's L.A. Big Band Plays the Music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays'' have been called a prime example of the art of arranging for large jazz ensemble in a contemporary setting.Bob Rusch, reviewer: Cadence Magazine, Volume 21, Issue 3, page 91 (1995) A second CD was released in 2011 entitled ''The Music of Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays, Volume II'' by the Bob Curnow Big Band. Since 1976 Curnow has been the C.E.O. of Sierra Music Publications, Inc. The company publishes music from the

library as well as many other large jazz ensemble scores and

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

arrangements. In 2005, Curnow was given the Distinguished Music Alumnus Award by the

School of Music. Curnow has donated almost $60,000 worth of musical compositions, CDs and books to the School of Music Jazz Studies Area.

Jazz education and former students

Curnow is a strong advocate of

and has been very involved since being a part of the well known

when first associated with the group in 1963.Billboard Magazine, ''Stan Kenton Slates Clinics on Campus'' Mar 10, 1973, Page 25. As well as holding academic positions at universities, he has served as a guest conductor and educational clinician for groups and organizations throughout the United States and Canada. He has served as a guest artist, adjudicator, conductor, or clinician at colleges and jazz festivals over the past 30 years throughout the world.

Select discography

* 1963 ''

Artistry in Voices and Brass ''Artistry in Voices and Brass'' is an album by the Stan Kenton Orchestra revisiting their popular compositions with new lyrics composed by Milt Raskin and arranged by Pete Rugolo for an 18-member vocal chorus and trombone section recorded in 196 ...

'' Stan Kenton (

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

) – as performer * 1963 '' Stan Kenton / Jean Turner'' Stan Kenton (

) – as performer * 196
''Kenton '63, Concert in England''
Stan Kenton (Astral Jazz) – as performer and arranger * 1972 '' National Anthems of the World''

(Creative World Records) – as arranger/conductor/producer * 1973 '' 7.5 on the Richter Scale''.

(Creative World Records) – as arranger/conductor/producer * 1974 '' Stan Kenton plays Chicago'',

(Creative World Records) – as composer/arranger/conductor/producer * 1974 '' Fire, Fury and Fun''

(Creative World Records) – as producer * 1976 ''

Kenton '76 ''Kenton '76'' is one of the last two studio albums by American jazz musician Stan Kenton and his orchestra, released in 1976, by Stan Kenton, Creative World Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in Chicago on December 3–5, 1975. ...

(Creative World Records) – as producer * 1976 '' Journey Into Capricorn''

(Creative World Records) – as producer * 1978 ''CSULA Jazz Ensemble'' Cal State L.A. Jazz Ensemble (CSULA, ℗1978) – as producer/composer/arranger/conductor * 198
''Crusade''
Cal State L.A. Jazz Ensemble (CSULA, ℗1980) – as producer/composer/arranger/conductor * 1984 '' Coast to Coast'' The McDonald's All-American High School Jazz Band – as producer/composer/arranger/conductor * 1986 ''

We're Back! "We're Back!" is the first track and third single from The Lonely Island's second album '' Turtleneck & Chain''. The song was first performed on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' on April 1, 2011 while the album was released on May 10, 2011. The ...

'' Cal State L.A. Jazz Ensemble (CSULA 886) – as arranger * 199
''Dick Shearer and His Stan Kenton Spirits''
Dick Shearer (Americatone Records) – as composer/arranger * 199
''The Music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays''
The Bob Curnow L.A. Big Band (MAMA Records) – as composer/arranger/conductor * 2003 ''Towednack'' Bob Curnow and the SWR Band (CK Records) – as composer/arranger/conductor * 2003 ''

Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter ''Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter'' is the first studio album by the Jazz Orchestra of the Delta and features trumpeter Marvin Stamm and vocalisSandra Dudley this was released in June 2003 on the Summit Records jazz label. The CD has been ...

Jazz Orchestra of the Delta The Jazz Orchestra of the Delta is a 17 piece concert jazz orchestra based primarily out of Memphis, Tennessee. The group was founded in 1998 and had their first commercial CD release in 2003, "Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter" on Summit Reco ...

(

Summit Records Summit Records, Inc. is an internationally distributed record label that evolved out of the large brass ensemble Summit Brass in the late 1980s. It was established by David Hickman and Ralph Sauer. Four Summit Records recordings have been nom ...

) – liner notes * 2003 '' Upside Out'' RCC Jazz Ensemble (Seabreeze Vista) – as composer/arranger * 201
''The Music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays – Volume II''
The Bob Curnow Big Band (Sierra Records) – as composer/arranger/conductor

References

Bibliography

* Steven Harris. ''The Kenton Kronicles''. Dynaflow Publications. 2000. * William F. Lee, Audree Coke Kenton. ''Stan Kenton: Artistry In Rhythm''. Creative Press of Los Angeles. 1980. * Michael Sparke, Peter Venudor. ''Stan Kenton, The Studio Sessions''. Balboa Books. 1998. * Michael Sparke. ''Stan Kenton: This Is An Orchestra''. University of North Texas Press. 2010.

External links

Bob Curnow at Allmusic GuideSierra Music PublishingThe Bob Curnow Big Band
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curnow, Bob 1941 births Living people American jazz composers American male jazz composers Jazz arrangers American jazz bandleaders Experimental big band bandleaders Mainstream jazz trombonists Swing trombonists Bebop trombonists Jazz record producers American jazz educators Musicians from Easton, Pennsylvania West Chester University alumni Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Educators from Pennsylvania 21st-century American trombonists 21st-century American male musicians