Bands & Projects 

I've been working in the Boston jazz and improvised music scene since the mid 1980s. Here's a selection of current bands and recent projects -- The Five Agents, Explorers Club, solo drumset -- with media samples, plus a few fave selections from groups no longer active.

The Five Agents

This project led by guitarist Eric Hofbauer has produced two recordings, with occasional performances. In March 2018, a first incarnation of the group (Jerry Sabatini - trumpet; Seth Meicht - tenor saxophone; Jeb Bishop - trombone; Eric Hofbauer - guitar; Curt Newton - drumset) recorded Book of Water live before a studio audience at Rotary Records in West Springfield MA. The performance was also captured in this video.

In December 2022, The Five Agents (with Tony Leva on bass, and no Jeb Bishop after his move to Chicago) premiered a new work entitled Waking Up!, inspired by and structured around climate activist Greta Thunberg’s galvanizing 2019 “How Dare You!” speech at the UN. A studio recording of Waking Up! released in September 2023.

Charlie Kohlhase Explorers Club

Charlie Kohlhase - alto, tenor, bari saxophone / Seth Meicht - tenor saxophone / Daniel Rosenthal - trumpet and flugelhorn / Josiah Reibstein - tuba / Eric Hofbauer - guitar / Aaron Darrell - bass / Curt Newton - drumset

Performing original compositions, mostly by Charlie plus a few by other group members, as well as tunes by such luminaries as John Tchicai, Makanda Ken McIntyre, and Elmo Hope. We have a regular gig on the 2nd Sunday of alternate months, 6:30-8pm at the Lilypad, Cambridge MA.

The group’s latest recording is Second Life (2024, Mandorla Music). Here’s a review from the ArtsFuse.

Eric Hofbauer Quintet

Eric Hofbauer - guitar and arrangements / Todd Brunel - clarinets / Jerry Sabatini - trumpet / Junko Fujiwara - cello / Curt Newton - drumset

The Eric Hofbauer Quintet explores the some of the 20th century's most compelling concert-hall compositions in a stripped down acoustic jazz configuration, through Hofbauer's radical and sublime arrangements. Formed originally in 2013 to mark the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, the group has also recorded Messiaen’s Quartet For The End Of Time, Charles Ives’ Three Places in New England, and most recently Duke Ellington's Reminiscing in Tempo, a rare long-form through-composed piece from 1935.

Recorded at the Church of the Advent Library Concert Series, 7 February 2014. Quintet arrangement of The Rite of Spring (Clip 1: "A Kiss of the Earth" - "Procession of the Oldest and Wisest One") Eric Hofbauer Quintet - Eric Hofbauer guitar Todd Brunel clarinet, bass clarinet Jerry Sabatini trumpet Junko Fujiwara cello Curt Newton drums, percussion

Noted historian and writer Kevin Whitehead defines the group's music as "less about jazzing the classics than situating the last century’s classical music and classic jazz in the same modernist continuum.”

Solo Drumset

I've been doing occasional solo drumset performances every few years since the mid-1990s.  It's simultaneously invigorating, deeply satisfying and uniquely terrifying to step out of the sideman role and completely own the sonic space for 30-45 minutes at a crack. It gels what's most central to my playing at that moment, and pushes me way beyond the comfort of the familiar and reliable. I'm inspired by the solo work of Max Roach, Anthony Braxton, Gerry Hemingway, Nate Wooley, Ken Vandermark, and Eric Hofbauer.

My latest is from April 17, 2024: a Climate Meditation for Solo Drumset at the MIT Chapel.

Concert presented by MIT Artists Beyond the Desk, March 28 2018 Video by Andrew Neumann Audio recording by Ken Silber, MIT A/V Services Audio mastering by Kevin Frenette at Abrasive Chair Music, Randolph MA © 2018 Curt Newton License: Creative Commons BY-NC Audio download at https://curtnewton.bandcamp.com/album/solo-drumset-mit-chapel-2018

Here's a recording from one of my first solo shows (1997): a drumset adaptation of Witold Lutoslawski's landmark String Quartet.

Drum duos are also a favorite thing. Eric Rosenthal and I have a 2-years-running annual tradition of a March drum duo set followed by an improvised set with one or more instrumental guests.

Recorded March 9, 2016 at Lilypad, Cambridge MA. See the full Drum Duo performance at https://youtu.be/MisniGwJFLo This excerpt begins at 25:40 Complete show "Two Duos & A Quartet: Jeb Bishop, Taylor Ho Bynum, Curt Newton, Eric Rosenthal" at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0u1Oojv7LIDq-6FlYNA_-01U2Ntx-Euo

Other Projects 

Ken Vandermark was the first musician I met when I moved to the Boston area in 1986, and the group Lombard Street Trio with Ken was my first foray into creative improvised music. After Ken moved to Chicago in 1989, we maintained a series of collaborations into the early 2000s (duo, trios, and more - see Discography) . After a long hiatus (12 years?), in July 2017 we reunited in Chicago for this trio with Fred Lonberg-Holm:

Live at Elastic Arts, Chicago IL Ken Vandermark - tenor and baritone saxophones, alto clarinet Fred Lonberg-Holm - cello Curt Newton - drumset 1. Track and Field (Vandermark) 2. Knewf (Lonberg-Holm) [8:05] 3. Tag (Vandermark) [14:45] 4. Simple Cut (Vandermark) [23:00] 5. Canon (Lonberg-Holm) [32:25] 6. Untitled (Lonberg-Holm) [44:00]

Pocket Aces (Eric Hofbauer - guitar / Aaron Darrell - bass / Curt Newton - drumset) was a cooperative trio which took shape as the rhythm section in the Charlie Kohlhase Explorers Club, and stepped out on its own in 2014. A studio recording Cull the Heard was released (CD & digital) in September 2018.

This concert video was recorded shortly after the Cull The Heard session.

Matchbox: with Jorrit Dijkstra - alto saxophone, lyricon / Pandelis Karayorgis - piano / Nate McBride - bass

"Matchbox" composed by Pandelis Karayorgis. Matchbox: Jorrit Dijkstra - alto saxophone Pandelis Karayorgis - piano Nate McBride - bass Curt Newton - drums https://driffrecords.bandcamp.com/album/matchbox http://www.driffrecords.com/ Recorded Nov. 29, 2015 at Lilypad, Cambridge MA.

 Time and Materials: duo with Nate McBride - bass

Time & Materials: Nate McBride - bass / Curt Newton - drums. March 19, 2015 at Outpost 186, Cambridge MA.

 Dave Bryant Septet and small groups: Dave Bryant - keyboards / Tom Hall - tenor saxophone / Neil Leonard - alto saxophone & electronics / Jeff Song - cello / Jacob William - bass / Eric Rosenthal & Curt Newton - drums & percussion

Kilter: duo improvisations with Steve Norton on all manner of saxophones and clarinets

The Outnumbered: with Jason Robinson and Charlie Kohlhase - saxophones / Josh Rosen - piano / Bruno Råberg - bass  

This 2016 tour with The Whammies and special guest Jaap Blonk:

Song List: Papa's Midnight Hop (Steve Lacy / text by Goethe) Utah (Steve Lacy / text by Giulia Niccolai) Nightsong of the Fish (Christian Morgenstern) As Usual (Steve Lacy / text by Bob Kaufman) Palermo - Orgosolo (Steve Lacy / text by Giulia Niccolai) Triangle Stories (Jaap Blonk) ZA (Steve

These groups are no longer active, but have been particularly important in my musical development.

  • mi3: with Pandelis Karayorgis - piano & Fender Rhodes / Nate McBride - bass

  • Tripleplay: with Ken Vandermark - reeds / Nate McBride - bass

  • Nate McBride Quartet: with Charlie Kohlhase - saxophones / Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet / Nate McBride - bass

  • Trio Ex Nihilo: with Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet / Jeff Song - cello

  • Central Artery Project: with Chris Allen - trombone / Charlie Kohlhase - saxophones / Chang U Choi - bass

  • Debris: with Steve Norton - reeds / Jeff Hudgins - saxophones / Arthor Weinstein - guitar / Bob Ross - bass

  • Joe Morris Trio: with Joe Morris - guitar / Nate McBride - bass

Check out Discography for more.