Barbara Sutton Curtis (September 16, 1930 – October 30, 2019) was an American jazz pianist.
Early life
Barbara Sutton was born in
Howell, Missouri
Howell is an unincorporated community in St. Charles County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Much of the community has been annexed by St. Peters.
History
A post office called Howell was established in 1900, and remained in operation until 1917. ...
,
the daughter of Earl Sutton and Edna Sutton.
["Barbara Sutton Curtis"](_blank)
''Ukiah Daily Journal'' (November 24, 2019). Her older brother
Ralph Sutton
Ralph Earl Sutton (November 4, 1922 – December 30, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.
Biography
Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri, ...
was also a jazz pianist in the Harlem stride piano style,
and with his help she started performing in her teens. She graduated from
Lindenwood College in
St. Charles, Missouri
Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...
, in 1952.
Career
Barbara Sutton began playing professionally in St. Louis while she was still in college.
In 1959 she played duets with her brother in New York City. The Suttons were both considered important interpreters of the works of
Fats Waller
Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...
, and recovered some lost compositions by Waller. A reviewer praised her "solid left hand" on her 1997 solo album ''Old Fashioned Love'' (recorded in Canada in 1987 and 1993). She said of playing jazz, "When the hearts of the musicians are together, it's a real high. There's nothing like it."
She moved to California with her husband in the 1960s. In 1969, Curtis moved to
Ukiah, California
Ukiah ( ; Pomo: ''Yokaya'', meaning "deep valley") is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California, with a population of 16,607 at the 2020 census. With its accessible location along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, Ukiah serves ...
, where she continued performing for many years, leading the Barbara Curtis Quintet. She also taught piano at Mendocino Community College.
She toured with her brother in Germany in 1987, with a Fats Waller tribute show. In 1991 she performed with her brother in Switzerland. Another album of her performances, ''Solos & Duets'', was released in 1993.
They recorded another album together in St. Louis in 2000, about a year before Ralph died.
Barbara and Hal Curtis were honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2005.
Barbara Sutton Curtis was regularly featured on programs of American
jazz festivals
This is a list of notable jazz festivals around the world.
Historic jazz festivals
Jazz festivals by country
The following is an incomplete list of notable jazz festivals, including both current and defunct festivals of note.
Africa
Angol ...
, including the 1977 Inverness Music Festival,
the 1988 DuMaurier Downtown Jazz Festival in Toronto, the 1991 Mid America Jazz Festival in St. Louis, the Peninsula Jazz Party in
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; ...
, the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Festival, the Fats Waller Memorial Jazz Festival, and the Santa Rosa Dixieland Jazz Festival.
Recordings
* ''Long Overdue with the Barbara Curtis Quartet'' (1984)
* ''Solos and Duets'' (
Sackville Records
Sackville Records was a Canadian record company and label that specialized in jazz.Gardner/Kernfeld, "Sackville". '' Grove Jazz'' online. In 2011, with Sackville defunct, Delmark Records acquired its catalogue.
Sackville was founded in 1968 in T ...
1993)
* ''Old Fashioned Love'' (Sackville Records 1997)
* ''Home Again'' (Gaslight Records 2001), with Ralph Sutton
Personal life
Barbara Sutton married drummer and schoolteacher Harold "Hal" Curtis in 1952. They had a daughter, Terry, and a son, Scott. She died in 2019, aged 89 years, in Ukiah. Unpublished recordings of her concerts were donated to the Mendocino County Historical Society.
References
External links
Barbara Sutton Curtison AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Barbara Sutton
1930 births
2019 deaths
American jazz pianists
People from Ukiah, California
Lindenwood University alumni
Jazz musicians from California