RBC On The Rise Award
On Thursday, I won the RBC On the Rise Award from Winnipeg Arts Council and Royal Bank of Canada, at the Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts. I am very humbled to receive an honour of this kind from my home community, before I make the move to New York in the fall. Winnipeg truly does take care its own. Here is an article about the event from the Winnipeg Free Press, and a photo of me with the award.
Know-a-sad Music Announces the Live Compilation Album “Farewell 274: Winnipeg’s Jazz Community Celebrates Aqua Books”
Know-a-sad Music
Curtis Nowosad
(204) 294-9694
Know-a-sad Music Announces the Live Compilation Album Farewell 274: Winnipeg’s Jazz Community Celebrates Aqua Books
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Know-a-sad Music is thrilled to announce the release of a live compilation album featuring many of Winnipeg’s finest jazz musicians, Farewell 274: Winnipeg’s Jazz Community Celebrates Aqua Books, with a special album release party at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain on Tuesday, July 16th, 2013.
Farewell 274, recorded live at Aqua Books in the spring of 2012, was conceived as a way to celebrate the closing venue by showcasing many of the great artists that performed there frequently. Made up of entirely original music, the collection contains both vocal and instrumental music, and a variety of moods, ranging from straight-ahead to contemporary jazz to R&B. The musicians also span generations, from internationally-renowned veterans such as Steve Kirby, Quincy Davis, and Laurent Roy, to up-and-comers such as Sheena Rattai, Sol James, and Curtis Nowosad, who produced the album.
The album release party will be held in Salle Antoine-Gaborieau at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain (340 Provencher Blvd) on Tuesday, July 16th, at 8pm, with performances by Nowosad, Rattai, Amber Epp, Sol James, Rayannah Kroeker, Steve Kirby, Will Bonness, Luke Sellick, and many other special guests. Tickets are $10 and will soon be going on sale at Music Trader (97 Osborne St) and Into the Music (245 McDermot Ave), and will also be available by emailing Know.a.sad.Music@gmail.com.
Know-a-sad Music is a record label and publishing company operated by Winnipeg-based drummer Curtis Nowosad. For more information, visit CurtisNowosad.com, follow him on Twitter (Twitter.com/CurtisNowosad), ‘Like’ him on Facebook (Facebook.com/KnowasadMusic), listen to his sounds on SoundCloud (SoundCloud.com/Curtis-Nowosad), watch his videos on YouTube (YouTube.com/CNowosad), or purchase his music on BandCamp (CurtisNowosad.BandCamp.com).
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For further information or to request a preview for airplay:
Know-a-sad Music
Curtis Nowosad
(204) 294-9694
Jazz Fest Round-Up!
- Thursday, June 13th, 7pm - SIMON CHRISTIE QUINTET at Old Market Square (King & Bannatyne), featuring Simon Christie on trumpet, Niall-Bakkestad-Legare on tenor and alto saxophone, Aaron Shorr on guitar, and Karl Kohut on bass. Free. http://simonchristiemusic.com/
- Friday, June 14th, 7:20pm - MARCO CASTILLO & BRAZILIAN BEATS at Old Market Square, featuring Marco Castillo on guitar and vocals, Sheila Castillo on percussion and vocals, Scott Senior on percussion, Mike Manny on keyboards, Jeff Presslaff on trombone, Phil Collins on trumpet, Neil Watson on alto saxophone, and Gilles Fournier on bass. http://www.marcocastillo.ca/
- Sunday, June 16th, 4:25pm - AARON SHORR ORGAN TRIO at Old Market Square, featuring Aaron Shorr on guitar and Will Bonness on Hammond B3 Organ. Free.https://soundcloud.com/aaron-shorr-1
- Sunday June 16th, 5:50pm - SOULSTATION at Old Market Square, featuring Joanna Majoko on vocals, Jocelyn Goertzen on guitar, Karl Kohut on bass, and Will Bonness on keyboards. Free. http://youtu.be/dfoZb7CAiEc
- Monday, June 17th, noon - STEVE KIRBY at Old Market Square. Free.
- Thursday, June 20th, 8pm - CURTIS NOWOSAD QUINTET at Cinematheque (100 Arthur St.), featuring Derrick Gardner on trumpet, Will Bonness on piano, Karl Kohut on bass, and Niall Bakkestad-Legare on tenor saxophone. We’ll be playing some music from my album, The Skeptic & the Cynic, as well as several brand-new compositions. Tickets are $15 in advance.http://www.curtisnowosad.com
- Saturday, June 22nd, 7pm - DEVON GILLINGHAM at Old Market Square, featuring Devon Gillingham on bass, Andrew Littleford on trumpet, Aaron Shorr on guitar, Will Bonness on piano, and Niall Bakkestad-Legare on tenor saxophone. Free. https://soundcloud.com/devon-gillingham
- Saturday, June 22nd, 10pm - ALFA, opening for DJ ?UESTLOVE at the Pyramid Cabaret (176 Fort St.). Alfa features Ismaila Alfa on vocals, Michael P Falk on guitar, and Julian Bradford on bass. Tickets are $25 in advance.
- Sunday, June 23rd, 7:30pm - WALLE LARSSON, opening for NEA Jazz Master GEORGE BENSON at the Burton Cummings Theatre (364 Smith St.), featuring Walle Larsson on saxophones, Julian Bradford on bass, Jordan Jackiew on keyboards, and Aaron Shorr on guitar. Tickets are $45/$55/$65. http://www.wallelarsson.com/
Feature article in the Winnipeg Free Press
Chris Smith wrote a nice article about me and my impending move to New York in Monday’s Winnipeg Free Press, you can read it here.
Videos from the 2012 Winnipeg DrumTalk Festival!
Here are some videos from the 2012 Winnipeg DrumTalk Festival, held at the CCFM in Winnipeg in November, and organized by Dave and Brenda Schneider from the Music Cellar. The first one features me, the second one features my good friend Steve Broadhurst (Doc Walker), and the third one is a behind the scenes look at the festival. Enjoy!
Article published in Drums Etc.
The spring issue of Drums Etc. was released today, and I had an article published called DIY: Self-Releasing an Album. Thanks to my friend Aaron Edgar for enlisting my help!
This article is a condensed version of a guest post I did for the jazz/literature blog A Horizontal Search earlier this year.
NYC
I’m happy to officially announce that I will be relocating New York, NY later this year, to obtain my masters degree from Manhattan School of Music. I’m very excited for this next chapter in my life, and it feels really good to have the full support of the Winnipeg music community, as has been made very clear in the past two weeks. On Saturday morning I was fortunate to speak with my good friend Ismaila Alfa on CBC Radio One. Andrea Ratuski wrote a great article based on this interview.
On an unrelated note, Broose Tulloch wrote a great review of The Skeptic & the Cynic on page 18 of the latest Stylus Magazine.
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Videos
I’m back in Winnipeg after five fantastic weeks in NYC, Washington, DC, and Orlando, FL. I have a lot to share with you, and a few pieces of very exciting news coming soon, but in the meantime, I’d like to share the videos from the final performances of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center in DC. I will put up a more complete blog post about the workshop soon; it was incredible and I would recommend it without reservation to any young (under 25) jazz musician who is serious about this music.
Each video includes all three bands, and I encourage you to check out the full concert from each night. Something important to note is that each band is playing 100% original music. Here are the links:
- Wednesday, March 20th (my group performed second, including the debut of my newest composition 159 & St. Nick)
- Thursday, March 21st (my group opened the show)
- Friday, March 22nd (my group closed the show)
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead 2013
Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Performance #1
Here is a link to a video of Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead performance #1 of 3 here at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. My group begins at the 20 minute mark, but I encourage you to check out all three groups, they’re all full of great young musicians! Click here for the video.
