Anthony Curtis

Anthony Curtis was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in rural Lignum, Virginia. It was a kind of musical waystation between the urbanity of Duke Ellington and Virginia’s traditional mountain music heritage. At a very early age he was drawn to music. He loved the trumpet first, began playing the guitar at age seven, and sang in the church choir. He is a musician, composer, and teacher devoted to exploring sound.

Anthony Curtis was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in rural Lignum, Virginia. It was a kind of musical waystation between the urbanity of Duke Ellington and Virginia’s traditional mountain music heritage. At a very early age he was drawn to music.

He loved the trumpet first, began playing the guitar at age seven, and sang in the church choir. He is a musician, composer, and teacher devoted to exploring sound. He has founded numerous bands, among them the Anthony Curtis Band (2000-2004), Boom with Pippin Barnett (Curlew, Fred Frith) and Greg LaBudde (Hammersmith, Loibon) (1994-99), Ja’Lu (1990-93), Firehand (1992-93), and Sonic Mandala (1988-91). His albums include One Hour Talisman (1997), Squint (1994), Everything is Relative (1991), Variations on the Theme of Being (1989), and The Deepest Seat (1987). He has taught extensively and helped to launch Qatar Music Academy. In addition to his musical pursuits, he has delved deeply into meditative and spiritual traditions including Platonism, Dzogchen, and Sufism. Curtis went to Qatar in 2000 where he spent two and a half years absorbing the light and music of the Arab world.

He played concerts with a variety of Indian percussionists and singers and partnered with Vittorio Uldorico from Eritrea. Returning to his home in Richmond, Virginia in 2003, he began playing concerts with local funk, fusion, jazz, and rock players and planning his upcoming album with LA producer Ronan Chris Murphy. The inspiration for the project came from the Middle East: the desert, the sea, the meeting of east and west, and the beloved Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. Book of the Key was recorded in Los Angeles in December of 2003 and January of 2004 and features Tony Levin on bass and Chapman Stick, Lewis Pragasam from Malaysia on drums and percussion, Mike Keneally on Fender Rhodes, Jeff Gauthier on violin, and Ronan Chris Murphy on harmonium. Augusta and Paulina Einarsdottir of Elf Films are producing a DVD that includes interviews with all the performers, behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the album, as well as a guitar master class entitled “Yoga of Sound Seminar I.” The album was released by Jester Records in early 2005. Kim Solve and Trine Paulsen designed the stunning album art.

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