Curlew was a vanguard jazz band who helped define downtown New York's "Knitting Factory Sound" from the late 1980s through the mid-'90s. Led by saxophonist George Cartwright, their shows and recordings offered an infectious blend of punk-influenced jazz, mutant harmolodic funk, improvisation, roadhouse blues, and avant rock. Their 1980 self-titled debut featured cellist Tom Cora, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, and bassist Bill Laswell, but the lineup changed often. Fred Frith played bass on 1985's North America, and 1991's Bee was the first to feature the iconic lineup of Cartwright, Cora, guitarist Davey Williams, drummer Pippin Barnett, and bassist Ann Rupel -- this ensemble issued the classic A Beautiful Western Saddle in 1995. After Cora's passing in 1998, the band's lineup continued evolving. As evidenced by 2003's Mercury, however, their musical focus remained adventurous. Since then, a series of archival live recordings have appeared from Cuneiform including Live at Phantasmagoria and WFMU and CBGS's NY, 1987.

Curlew was founded in 1979 by George Cartwright, who served as the group's leader, saxophonist, and main composer. Although Curlew have been viewed as pioneers of New York City's "downtown scene," Cartwright was born in Mississippi and has consistently brought a roadhouse R&B swagger and the influence of early hero Ornette Coleman to the band's sound. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Curlew served as something of an incubator and showcase for N.Y.C. avant-jazz and rock talent. The group's eponymous first album, recorded in 1980, featured Cartwright on alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones, with cellist Tom Cora, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, bassist Bill Laswell, and drummer Bill Bacon. (In 2008 the album was re-released by Downtown Music Gallery paired with a live disc recorded at CBGB [also in 1980] featuring Denardo Coleman on drums.)

By the mid-'80s and the release of North America on the European Moers label (later re-released by Cuneiform with live bonus tracks), the band included bassist Fred Frith and guitarist Mark Howell alongside drummer Pippin Barnett. Barnett was a founding member of the Orthotonics and later performed with Cora in the Swiss group Nimal; Cora was also a founding member of Skeleton Crew with Frith and played with many downtown artists of the era, including Eugene Chadbourne and John Zorn. Maverick keyboardist Wayne Horvitz played on Curlew's third album, Live in Berlin, a release that also saw the arrival of guitarist Davey Williams, who -- along with Barnett and Cartwright -- would be a mainstay for several years.

Curlew's first album of the '90s (a studio recording released by Cuneiform), Bee, marked the first appearance of bassist Ann Rupel, who also played in the group No Safety. One of Curlew's more experimental releases -- and easily its best reviewed and most enduring -- was 1993's A Beautiful Western Saddle, featuring vocals by guest Amy Denio and lyrics by poet Paul Haines. By 1996's Paradise, drummer Barnett had been replaced by Samm Bennett, also a member of Third Person, a trio that included Cora. Bennett was also leader of the N.Y.C. jazz-rock band Chunk. In addition, Paradise featured Chris Cochrane, another member of No Safety, on second guitar. By 1998's Fabulous Drop, Bennett was gone from the drummer's chair, replaced by Kenny Wollesen, one of the most prolific drummers and vibraphonists on New York's vanguard jazz scene.

By the new millennium, most vestiges of the downtown scene had moved from the geographic center of Lower Manhattan, with punky CBGB and the late-arriving avant-jazz-centered Tonic soon to disappear and the Knitting Factory long having hitched its wagon to more mainstream rock (the Stone remaining one of the few venues consistently serving up adventurous creative fare on the Lower East Side). While Brooklyn (where a lot of "downtowners" lived anyway) became the locus for 'downtown music" in earlier decades, Cartwright -- somewhat surprisingly -- left new York for Minnesota's Twin Cities while still fully immersed in avant-jazz and keeping the Curlew story alive.

The ironically titled Meet the Curlews (released in 2002, again on Cuneiform) featured Cartwright and Williams with a band whose members lived in places that would make the prospect of weekly rehearsals exceedingly difficult: drummer Bruce Golden (who Cartwright says is his "oldest [and] longest...musical pal") is a lifelong Mississippian, keyboardist Chris Parker lived in Memphis, and bassist Fred Chalenor in Seattle. In 2003 this lineup, with Minnesota guitarist Dean Granros replacing Williams, appeared on Mercury, the eighth Curlew album from Cuneiform. Regarding Williams, Cartwright vowed "he'll be back," suggesting the possibility of a two-guitar lineup with both Williams and Granros at some point in the future. The diverse energy of Curlew's various bandmembers has kept the group continually on the creative cutting edge throughout its history, and any particular version of the band is filled with surprises and dynamic musical interactions.

While no further studio recordings appeared from the band, Cuneiform has issued several archival live outings beginning with Live at the Knitting Factory 1991/Live at D.C. Space in 2018. They followed in 2022 with the simultaneously released digital-only outings CBGS's NY, 1987 and Live at Phantasmagoria and WFMU. Cartwright has continued recording as a solo artist and sideman, occasionally with some of his former bandmates. ~ Bill Tilland & Dave Lynch, Rovi