The Curtis King Band

The Curtis King Band is currently based out of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam featuring Curtis King on vocals, guitar and harmonica. Originally from Cleveland Ohio, home of Rock 'n' Roll and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Curtis King has been passionately playing the guitar since he was 4 years old (that's over 35 years!). Some find their passion in writing, some find it in playing poker, for Curtis King early in his life there was no doubt his passion was for music.

Originally from Cleveland Ohio, home of Rock 'n' Roll and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Curtis King has been passionately playing the guitar since he was 4 years old (that's over 35 years!). Some find their passion in writing, some find it in playing poker, for Curtis King early in his life there was no doubt his passion was for music.

He has performed in the United States, Spain, China, Singapore, Vietnam, and many other countries in Asia. Adept at many styles and many instruments, and having lived and studied in some of the most interesting music capitals of the world, recently King has been focusing on a unique combination of jazz, blues, rock, classical, fusion, flamenco, with a touch of exotic "Eastern" sounds (check out "Take My Hand", using a Chinese 21-string zither). You will be sure to hear a few sounds that are new, yet pleasing, to your ears. King is also known to play a song or two on the Mississippi Saxophone (blues harmonica, that is), the bamboo flute, keyboards, and bass!

The Curtis King Band is a funky, bluesy, jazzy, good-time, traveling rock ?n' roll band with an East-meets-West sound. The band has been playing throughout Asia since 1996, travelling to most corners of the continent (Vietnam, India, Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, etc. etc.). Curtis King, a GRAMMY-recognized artist (guitar/harmonica/vocals/trumpet) and his cast of world-class musicians and entertainers have been featured on MTV, the BBC, China Central Television, XoneFM Radio (Vietnam), and HTV (Vietnam).

The band has performed at several regional festivals, including Hue Festival 2010 (Vietnam), The Japan Blues Festival (2009), The 2008 Agent Orange Benefit Concert (Vietnam), Live Earth (Singapore, 2007), Jakarta International Jazz Festival (Jakjazz) 2007, and Loreto Fest 2008 (Vietnam).

Curtis King has shared the stage with international legends Deep Purple, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, O'Donel "OD" Levy, Riki Hendrix, Anand Bhatt, local Vietnamese talents Tran Manh Tuan, Siu Black, Hong Nhung, Anh Khoa, Ha Okio, Singapore's guitarist extraordinaire John Chee (at the legendary Crazy Elephant), Matthew "Cadillac" Cooper, Juram, and many other top performers from around the world.

The band has recorded 2 live albums and 2 studio albums (1 of which hit the #1 spot in Indonesia), and has recently experimented with an East-meets-West blues / jazz style using traditional Asian instruments. The Curtis King Band is also involved in the local community, supporting the Vietnam Red Cross on the Agent Orange issue, and the Indonesian Red Cross on Tsunami-related issues.

Curtis King is also available for recording harmonica (and guitar), and has modern mobile recording equipment and a studio in Dalat (Vietnam). He has recorded with several bands including "The Unseen Guest" (India), "The Ocean Band" (Singapore), "Buyana" (Mongolia), Anand Bhatt (USA), Tran Manh Tuan (Vietnam), Anh Khoa (Vietnam), Ha Okio (Vietnam), Tran Manh Tuan (Vietnam), and many others.

King leads the band with a fun, upbeat style, while playing guitar and harp, directing a very "live" show, and throwing in some fun surprises. Under the name "Li Ming" and "Le Van Teo", Curtis King has been performing for Chinese and Vietnamese audiences, singing and chatting in the local languages.

On the business side, Curtis King has been involved in the entertainment business in a professional way since 2000, when he joined Tower Records as GM of Tower Records Singapore. Since then he has formed Kingsworld Management (Singapore), an entertainment company that has been in partnership in Vietnam with Galaxy Studio (Vietnam's leading film, cinema and entertainment company).

Productions include: Blues in Singapore; The Curtis King Band LIVE - Caught With Our Pants Down; Jazz in Singapore; Matthew Cadillac Cooper with the Curtis King Band: Here I Come With the Blues; Blues in Asia; Rock in Asia; The Curtis King Band - Horny in Vietnam; The Curtis King Band - Who Is Curtis King? Who Cares?

Real music. Good times. Have guitar, will travel.