Dennis Currier celebrates his new CD, "Terzetto," Saturday at Summit.
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net
For most of the past 2 decades Dennis Currier has been toiling as an investment banker on Wall Street and in Charlotte. But that career has hidden his true passion: Music. The Kentucky native has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from New York’s prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Even during his years as a banker, he has continued playing jazz and blues guitar, piano and banjo.
On Saturday night at Summit Coffee in Davidson, he’ll debut his first recording, a CD named “Terzetto” (it means “three” in Italian). It’s a mix of self-arranged jazz standards, blues and a couple of originals. The CD release party is the first of a series of regular gigs that will bring jazz to Summit the second Saturday of each month through March.
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Guitarist Dennis Currier
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Background music: “Susie K,” which Mr. Currier wrote in honor of his wife, Susan Johnson. Mr. Currier is accompanied by bassist Ron Brendle and drummer Chris Garges.
Mr. Currier’s trio, also called Terzetto, includes a rhythm section with two of North Carolina’s most accomplished jazz players: bassist Ron Brendle and drummer Chris Garges. The two also played on the album.
Mr. Currier, who lives in Davidson, plays in a finger-picking style he likens to that of the great guitarist Chet Atkins. He says Saturday’s sets at Summit will include an eclectic mix of jazz, blues and bluegrass – but “no classical.”
Mr. Currier played music professionally after music school, but decided against a music career. “You end up playing a lot of music you don’t want to play. That’s what happened. To me, it was just always an artistic endeavor,” he said.
So he got an MBA at New York University and became an investment banker. In recent years he has worked for Deutsche Bank and Bank of America. Last year, he decided to “cut back” and now works only part time for a management consulting firm.
That has given him the time to get back to the music. The new album, “Terzetto,” represents months of work, not only arranging and rehearsing the music, but also tending to the other tasks of production. He handled all the music licensing himself, oversaw recording and mastering, arranged a CD pressing, and got the album listed on iTunes and other online music services.
“I really should’ve been a record producer,” he joked.
He is now, and you can hear the fruits of his labors Saturday night at Summit.
DENNIS CURRIER & TERZETTO
Saturday, Jan. 9, 8-10 p.m.
Summit Coffee, 128 S. Main St.
On the net: www.denniscurrier.com or iTunes or other online music stores.
“4-Minute Interview” produced by and ©2010 by David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net, except music, by Dennis Currier.
