PANCAKES AND SERENADES ON CHRISTMAS DAY: Spend Christmas Day at the Blue Note with Svetlana & The New York Collective for Special Holiday Jazz Brunch, Presented by WBGO Watch Svetlana’s video for “All I Want” here and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” here “Upper echelon of joy” – PopMatters “Energetic” – The Wall Street Journal “NYC darlings” … Read More
By Adam Feibel, Jazz FM. 90.1 Since the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out musicians’ ability to play live concerts — and, in effect, to make most of their earnings — Bandcamp has emerged as a leader in helping artists make more money from their music. Read this full feature here.
A long list of 2019’s best Canadian jazz albums, plus even more honourable mentions By Peter Hum, The Ottawa Citizen North Carolina bassist and educator Steve Haines, an Ottawa native, released a beautiful orchestral album. Haines’ project featured the impeccable vocalist Becca Stevens singing a program that leaned heavily into Canadiana (think Gordon Lightfoot, Kim … Read More
By: Barry Witherden, Jazz Journal Canadian-born but based in Harlem since 2013, Curtis has played in the bands of Philip Harper, Craig Harris, Braxton Cook and Marc Cary. He has released two well-received previous albums under his own leadership, The Skeptic & The Cynic and the award-winning Dialectics, both recorded in his home-town, Winnipeg. The former album consisted … Read More
By: Ted Parkinson, The Whole Note Curtis Nowosad is a drummer and composer who was born and raised in Winnipeg but has lived in New York City since 2013 after moving there to complete a master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. This is Nowosad’s third album, the first recorded in New York, and … Read More
By: Carol Banks Weber, Festival Peak Curtis Nowosad’s new, self-titled album overflows with full-bodied, sizzling jazz — and important history lessons about social injustice in this country in five original compositions and three related covers. You know what they say about a “spoonful of sugar…” The Canadian drummer/composer meant for his tunes to mean something, … Read More
Jonathan Widran, Jazziz With the release of his self-titled third album, Canadian-born drummer-composer Curtis Nowosad has more on his mind than showcasing the crackling chemistry, deep emotional sensitivity and wild funk of his groove-intensive NYC-based ensemble. His five originals, along with re-imaginings of conceptually connected, culturally relevant pieces by Gil Scott-Heron, Skip James and Nina … Read More
J.D. Considine, JazzTimes On his third album, drummer Curtis Nowosad celebrates his move from Winnipeg, Manitoba to New York, N.Y. by updating his sound. Where his first two albums were solidly straight-ahead, applying a hard-bop aesthetic even to pop tunes such as Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel,” this one is slick and … Read More
By: Damian Wilkes, UK VIBE Canadian born drummer Curtis Nowosad releases this his third album, although, this self-titled album is the first with this configuration and on Sessionheads United records. Nowosad’s line-up for this enterprise consists of Luke Sellick on bass, Andrew Renfroe on guitar and the extremely active alto saxophonist Braxton Cook alongside Curtis … Read More
By: Dave Rogers, WTJU “Nearly 100 years after the Harlem Renaissance shook the world, there’s a whole new cultural and spiritual awakening in that corner of the jazz world. Organized by post-bop pianist Marc Cary, The Harlem Sessions (originating at Gin Fizz and now based at Smoke Jazz Club) invites musicians, poets, artists, philosophers and … Read More
