Curtis Nowosad

Curtis Nowosad is a NYC-based drummer, composer, bandleader and educator. Having made his home in Harlem since 2013, the native of Winnipeg, MB, Canada has established himself as an integral part of the NYC jazz scene, both as a bandleader and a sideperson.

On Curtis’ eponymous third album—released in 2019 and co-produced with acclaimed pianist Marc Cary—he emerges as a powerful musical force for social justice on a groundbreaking self-titled jazz and blues-driven collection that illuminates past and present history while creating some profound history of its own. It is his first collection to feature the explosive and intuitive chemistry of his NY-based ensemble that has held court in NYC everywhere from Smalls to the Blue Note to the Jazz Standard and full week residencies at Dizzy’s Club at JALC.

Curtis laid the foundation for this current release with two previous critically acclaimed collections, his debut The Skeptic & the Cynic and the WCMA-winning and JUNO-nominated Dialectics, which made Downbeat Magazine’s “Best of 2015” list. A remix project, titled CNRMXD, will be released in fall 2022.

Curtis has played in the bands of Philip Harper, Craig Harris, Steve Nelson, rising star saxophonist and vocalist Braxton Cook and Cary—who both make major contributions to the album—while headlining major jazz festivals in the USA, Canada and Europe. He has also played with four NEA Jazz Masters: Candido Camero, Dave Liebman, Jimmy Owens and Ron Carter, and recorded with a fifth, Kenny Barron. He is an endorser of Canopus Drums and holds a Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music, where he previously served on the Precollege jazz faculty.