PIANO

At age 5, Zaccai started playing piano. This Christmas he celebrated two milestones: his 43rd birthday and his first GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album—CuBop Lives! With a Master’s degree from NEC under his belt, he launched a career that is nothing short of stellar. He tours and performs regularly with Donald Harrison, Cindy Blackman Santana, Eddie Palmieri, Christian Scott, T.K. Blue, Brian Lynch, Ray Vega, Eric Person, and others. He also serves on the faculty of Hartt School of Music and WestConn under his former Litchfield Jazz Camp instructor, saxophonist Jimmy Greene.

Curtis composes and arranges for his own quartet, trio, and Big-Band. Among his many honors are multiple ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Awards, two U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassador tours, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism’s Artist Fellowship, and the prestigious Doris Duke/ Chamber Music America New Works grant.

Curtis performs his own music with the Curtis Brothers Quartet on the Truth Revolution label, founded with his brother bassist Luques Curtis a decade ago. The label represents a collective of musicians, currently numbering more than 80, who produce music on their own terms. The label boasts two GRAMMY nominations, Zaccai’s Cubob Lives! and the 2016 nominated, Entre Colegas.

Zaccai first attended Jazz Camp at age 13 and returned for most of his teen years. He first attended on a talent scholarship along with members of his Latin Flavor band, Luques, then age 12, and Richie Barshay, age 14. He serves on the Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty and led the 2018 Litchfield Jazz Orchestra for the 23rd annual Litchfield Jazz Festival.