In early 2022, The San Francisco Standard met and interviewed the Curtis family, known professionally as The Curtis Family C-Notes.
The C-Notes, whose cohesive aesthetic harkens back to the greatest family bands of the late-’60s and early-’70s—Jackson, Partridge and otherwise—play a style of scratchy, spiritual and mildly psychedelic funk inspired by the likes of Sly and the Family Stone. Or, as bassist Nile Curtis and his sister, guitarist Zahara, told us: “’60s and ’70s San Francisco funk.”
The C-Notes love their city (they live and rehearse at their home in the Bayview)—and judging by the enthusiastic crowd that gathered yesterday to watch them perform cuts from their brand new full-length album—their city loves them.
The show, hosted by this news organization as a part of our “Standard Salon” event series, kicked off with a lively introduction from Mayor London Breed, who praised the band (and family) leaders, Maestro and Nola Curtis for their musical talent and dedication to their children and the community.
The group released Awaken, a 13-song set, on June 8. The album is available on CD, Spotify and Apple Music. Read more about the C-Notes here. Listen to the new album below: