A Hartford, Connecticut native has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Latin Jazz category.
Zaccai Curtis’ album “Cubop Lives” celebrates a style of Latin Jazz that combines Afro-Cuban music with Bebop.
Curtis said “Cubop” was especially popular in the 1940s, made famous by artists like Tito Puente, before it was absorbed into other styles. So he’s delighted at the critical recognition for this revival album.
“It’s like a period piece record,” he said in an interview. “It’s not even the type of music I play every day. I don’t hear too many people playing it. But it’s the music I love. I absolutely love to play it and I study it.”
Curtis, a pianist and composer, said he was lucky to find other musicians who could play Cubop, including his brother Luques Curtis.
While he is not Cuban himself, Curtis said “all jazz musicians do have a connection to Latin music or Cuban music. There is a common cultural connection with our music.”
Curtis said two songs on the “Cubop Lives” album are original; the rest are covers “but each one of those arrangements are done very differently than anyone else has done in the past.”
Although Curtis has played on other award-winning albums, this is the first time his own project has been nominated for a Grammy.
The awards ceremony takes place in February.
This story was originally published by New England Public Media. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
