Grammy winner Zaccai Curtis to be clinician for Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest education events

The Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest education committee had a strong rooting interest when it was time to announce the winner of the Best Latin Jazz Album during Sunday night’s Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles.

One of the seven nominees was Zaccai Curtis, the pianist, composer, arranger, educator, who was nominated for his highly acclaimed album, Cubop Lives!

Albert Rivera, Mike and Millie Eben and Gerald Veasley were focused on the presentation because Zaccai Curtis will be a special guest clinician for three major GETJAZZED events during the Berks Jazz Fest in April.

The rooting quickly turned to celebrating when Zaccai Curtis’ name was called as the Grammy winner of the Best Latin Jazz Album category.

As longtime friends, saxophonist Rivera was “over the moon” thrilled for Zaccai and his brother, Luques, the bassist on the Grammy winning album.

“Zaccai is not only a kindhearted and an incredible musician, but his love for educating the next generation of musicians is amazing,” said Rivera, the Bronx native who has been part of the Berks Jazz Fest education initiatives for many years. “Zaccai, along with Luques, who is equally talented and passionate, will be amazing additions to the stellar crew for the GETJAZZED programs.”

Rivera’s connection with the Curtis brothers started in 1999 when they were young campers at the prestigious Litchfield Jazz Camp in Connecticut. The trio immediately hit it off personally and musically, making a commitment to re-connect down the road so they could start performing live and recording together, which they have done for many years, including several Berks Jazz Fest performances.

In 2021, Rivera and the Curtis brothers, along with drummer Richie Barshay, headlined a Latin Jazz concert during the 30th anniversary of the Berks Jazz Fest.

Like the Curtis brothers, Rivera has found success in the jazz world as a composer, band leader, clinician and educator. He is a professor at SUNY Purchase in New York and the Director of Operations at Litchfield Performing Arts.

Zaccai Curtis’ Cubop Lives! project pays homage to the rich legacy of Afro-Cuban jazz while infusing it with modern energy and rhythmic complexity. Curtis’ work bridges the gap between tradition and innovation, ensuring that Latin jazz remains a vibrant force in contemporary music.

Released last May, Curtis assembled a superb lineup of musicians to record the project -- Willie Martinez III on timbales, Camilo Molina on congas/pandero, Reinaldo De Jesus on bongos/chekere/guiro, and brother, Luques, on bass.

Cubop Lives! was well received by reviewers.

One reviewer wrote: “If you buy one album this year, make it Cubop Lives! Trust me. It would be easy to say that Zaccai was influenced by Bud Powell, but that would be selling him short. Zaccai

has multiple influences from a range of great jazz and Latin keyboardists, and he has distilled them all to create his own elegant style.

“On Cubop Lives!, Zaccai puts a Latin spin on 17 tracks that are enormously diversified. His technique is extraordinary, and his taste is exceptional.”

Zaccai and Luques will be clinicians for three GETJAZZED events during the Berks Jazz Fest -- RMF Project Penske Jam, Monday, April 7; the GETJAZZED Scholastic Fest on Tuesday, April 8, and Wednesday, April 9. All events will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading.

The Curtis brothers, Rivera, Veasley, Eric Marienthal, Curtis McCain, Dave Ballou, Bennie Sims, Cliff Starkey, and Larry Marshall will share their extensive jazz knowledge and experiences with students from 16 schools during the GETJAZZED Scholastic Fest.

“It’s always a thrill to work with Albert (Rivera) and Gerald (Veasley) during GETJAZZED events,” said Mike Eben, chairman of the GETJAZZED program. “Add world renowned Eric Marienthal to the mix, and you think, ‘Wow. Can it get much better?

“Well, it turns out that it can – when you add trumpeter Dave Ballou, Zaccai and Luques, all world-class musicians and educators.

“And let’s not forget local legends Bennie Sims, Cliff Starkey and Larry Marshall, who will lend their expertise during our student jam sessions.

“Looking forward to a banner year for GETJAZZED and our student musicians!”

Zaccai is a professor of music at the University of Hartford: Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Division and University of Rhode Island. Besides being an educator, Zaccai authored two books “Art of the Guajeo” and “Theory of the Common Voicing” to aid students in their jazz and Latin Jazz education.

At 43, Zaccai Curtis’ musical journey has not gone unnoticed.

He was the winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s competition four straight years (2004-2006). His quartet was selected by the U.S. State Department to be in the American Music Abroad (Jazz Ambassadors) program two times in 2006. They performed in Bangladesh, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

In 2007, Zaccai Curtis was awarded the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism’s Artist Fellowship for original composition. In 2017, he became a Chamber Music America: New Jazz Works grant recipient.

In 2020, he was voted as the Rising Star in the Critics Poll for Downbeat Magazine.

Luques, two years younger than Curtis, studied at the Greater Hartford Academy of Performing Arts and Artists Collective, earning a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. As a sideman, he has participated in over 100 recordings and toured worldwide with top-notch performers.

Curtis and Luques created the record label TRRcollective, which is a collective of musicians that produce their own music and release it together. He also is proud to have produced and released the GRAMMY nominated album, Entre Colegas, by Andy González (2016).

The other Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy nominees were: Spain Forever Again: Michel Camilo and Tomatito Collab: Hamilton de Holanda & Gonzalo Rubalcaba Time and Again: Eliane Elias El Trio, Live in Italy Horacio: El Negro Hernández, John Beasley and José Gola Cuba and Beyond: Chucho Valdés and Royal Quartet As I Travel: Donald Vega featuring Lewis Nash, John Patitucci and Luisito Quintero