Zaccai Curtis
| Zaccai Curtis | |
|---|---|
|
Zaccai Curtis at the piano | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Zaccai Curtis |
| Born |
December 25, 1981 New York City |
| Genres | Jazz, Latin jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Bandleader and musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Labels | Truth Revolution Records |
| Website | Official website |
Zaccai Curtis (born December 25, 1981) is a pianist,[1] bandleader and musician of Puerto Rican and African American ancestry. He performs with artists such as: Cindy Blackman-Santana, Brian Lynch, Ralph Peterson, Ray Vega, Antoine Roney, Wallace Roney, Jerry Gonzalez, Papo Vasquez, Donald Harrison, Stacie Orrico, Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band and many notable others.
After graduating from the New England Conservatory in 2005, Zaccai Curtis moved to New York City to pursue music. He was a founding member of the group Insight (also known as Latin Flavor) which also included his brother, Luques Curtis. Insight opened for Celia Cruz in Windsor, CT in 2000. He has performed in Cuba by invitation of Chucho Valdés at the Havana Jazz Festival and was commissioned to arrange Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol," in 2001 to be played by "Insight" with the Hartford Symphony Chamber Orchestra. He has won numerous festival musical awards, been cited for excellence by Down Beat magazine, listed in DownBeat Magazine’s Reader’s Poll and was chosen as the pianist for the National Grammy Band Combo in 2000. In 2003, he was selected as a winner for the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer's Competition. He was also awarded the ‘Connecticut Commission on Cultural and Tourism’s Artist Fellowship’ for original composition.
He currently performs his own music with his group ‘Curtis Brothers Quartet’/ Zaccai and brother Luques Curtis released their album ‘Blood, Spirit, Land, Water, Freedom’ in 2010 and ‘Completion of Proof’ featuring Ralph Peterson (drums), Brian Lynch (trumpet), Donald Harrison (saxophone), Jimmy Greene (saxophone), Pedrito Martinez (percussion) and Joe Ford (saxophone), in 2012. Their latest release, ‘Nuestro Tango’ was released in 2013, featuring newcomer vocalist, Natalie Fernandez and members of Insight. All titles were released on Truth Revolution Records, an independent record label founded by Zaccai, his brother Luques Curtis and Tiffany Ente, in 2009.
Discography
- INSIGHT (2000)
- Blood, Spirit, Land, Water, Freedom” (2010)
- Completion of Proof” (2012)
- Nuestro Tango (2013)
References
- ↑ Blumenfeld, Larry (December 10, 2011). "Brothers as Keepers of Latin-Jazz Sound". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 23, 2014.