Curfew (band)

Curfew
Origin	South England Scotland
Genres	Electro/Dance/Trip Hop/Ambient
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Afterdark Records
Website	www.curfew.co.uk
Members
Steve Marshall Martin Lawrie Nick Andrew David Bouet
Past members
Russ Wilson Theo Travis Ed Jones Dave O'Higgins Mark Hewins Alex Lawrie Julian Costello Shan Chana Bill Morrison Rena Kev Dyson Paul Francis Mike Nichols Jane Tuff

Curfew are a jazz fusion band from England. Having been described in the press as "jazz rock with a Weather Report sound",^[1] the band are the self-proclaimed pioneers of the electric jazz genre;^[2] combining traditional instrumentation and performance with modern MIDI techniques.^[3]

Tracks from their latest album, Hold the Front Page, have appeared on radioplaylists in countries such as USA and Romania.^[4]

Early years: 1988-1995

Curfew were formed in 1988 by Martin Lawrie (Jools Holland, Alan Clayson) and Steve Marshall (Jaco Pastorius) as an outlet for their original jazz fusion compositions.

The following year, the band augmented their lineup before gigging in 1990 with Bill Morrison on drums and Julian Costello on sax.

Following Morrison's departure in 1992, Shan Chana joined the band. With vocalist Rena, the band appeared at venues such as the Jazz Café in Camden, before entering the studio. The band produced a number of demos (which would later become the basis for their debut album).^[5]

New line-up and album: 1995-1997

With the arrival of a new drummer, Russ Wilson (Theo Travis, Adam Wakeman), the band recorded their first album (Somewhere In The City) with guests Dave O'Higgins (Frank Sinatra, Jamie Cullum) and Mark Hewins (Bill Bruford, Bob Geldof). The album was released on Afterdark Records.^[6]

Back to basics: 2004-present

With only occasional session appearances from Jones and Travis (as well as Lawrie's son Alex on saxophone, flute and EWI), the band entered the studio in December 2004, before releasing Hold The Front Page in September 2005.

With Andrews preoccupied through 2006 with his solo album, the band reconvened in early 2007 for an appearance at the Watermill Jazz Club, Dorking. Shortly after this, Wilson announced his departure from the band.^[7]

On July 20, 2007, Andrews stated on his personal website that Curfew will be performing at the 2007 alloutguitarFEST (formerly Kymfest). The festival took place on September 16 at the Roadmender venue in Northampton.^[8][9]

Personnel

• Steve Marshall - Bass, Flute
• Martin Lawrie - Keyboards
• Nick Andrew - Guitar
• David Bouet - Drums

Discography

• Somewhere In The City – 1997
• Return of the Jazz Fusioneers – 2001
• Hold The Front Page – 2005

References

1. ^ Jack Massarik, Evening Standard: http://www.cdunsigned.com/cd.php?products_id=260
2. ^ Curfew define the "Electric Jazz" genre: http://www.curfew.co.uk/electric.html
3. ^ Mark Robinson's HTFP review: http://www.alloutguitar.com/issue/2007_05_may_jun/curfew_hold_the_front_page
4. ^ Curfew's news/gigs page: http://www.curfew.co.uk/gigs.html
5. ^ Curfew's band history: http://www.curfew.co.uk/about.html
6. ^ Dave O'Higgins's list of credentials: http://www.daveohiggins.com/pages/biography.htm#played
7. ^ Nick Andrew's personal website (news page): http://www.nickandrew.net/news.htm
8. ^ Nick Andrew's personal website (news page): http://www.nickandrew.net/news.htm
9. ^ allguitarFEST lineup: http://kymfest.co.uk/index.cfm/go/app.lineup#NickA