Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
New York-based drummer, composer, bandleader, Curtis Nowosad, has developed a reputation as a highly-skilled, versatile, forward-thinking musician. A native of Winnipeg, MB, Curtis became recognized as one of the faces of the new generation of Canadian jazz musicians, touring coast-to-coast with his quintet, performing with such world-class jazz musicians as Stefon Harris, Miguel Zenón, and Donny McCaslin. For two years he has held a bi-weekly residency at Smalls Jazz Club with the Philip Harper Quintet, and recently recorded with NEA Jazz Master, pianist Kenny Barron.
His critically-acclaimed sophomore album Dialectics (Cellar Live) was released in March 2015, and features world-renowned saxophonist Jimmy Greene. The album received a 4 1/2 star review in DownBeat Magazine (“...fiery and scalding one moment, breezy and swinging the next, and perpetually inventive throughout.”) and reached #3 on both the CMJ and !earshot jazz charts, as well as spending 10 weeks on the JazzWeek charts in the U.S. He holds a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music, and was twice invited to participate in the Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In 2014 he received the Keep An Eye Jazz Award at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam.