Curtis Nowosad is a JUNO-nominated, NYC-based jazz drummer, composer, educator and recording artist. Having made his home in NYC for over a decade, the native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada has established himself as an integral part of the NYC and international jazz scene, both as a bandleader and a sideperson.
Curtis has played in the bands of many top jazz artists of multiple generations, including Jazzmeia Horn, Jane Monheit, Marc Cary, Brianna Thomas, Jimmy Greene, Jocelyn Gould, Philip Harper, Bria Skonberg, Steve Nelson, Caity Gyorgy, Craig Harris, Sarah Elizabeth Charles and Braxton Cook, with whom he has toured extensively in Europe, Asia and North America and performed on ABC’s Good Morning America and NPR’s groundbreaking video series Tiny Desk Concerts. 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 has led bands at many notable clubs as well as every major jazz festival in Canada and several in the US. He holds a monthly residency at the world-renowned Smalls Jazz Club in NYC.
Curtis’ new release on La Reserve Records, I Am Doing My Best, is his fourth full-length album and his first to feature all-original music and lyrics. Co-produced by two-time JUNO winner Joey Landreth, the album is a radically honest journey through healing and self-reflection in an increasingly demanding world.
He is an endorser of Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and Yamaha drums.
