Zaccai Curtis

Zaccai Curtis is an acclaimed recording artist, producer and 2025 Grammy Award winner for Best Latin Jazz Album. He leads the Zaccai Curtis Quintet and Sonido Solar, with a new album, Sonoluminescence, set for release in 2026. With his brother Luques, he co-founded TRRcollective, a record label that helps musicians produce and release their own work. He also produced Andy González’s Grammy-nominated album Entre Colegas.

A Connecticut native who moved to New York City in 2005, Curtis has performed with Christian Scott, Donald Harrison, Cindy Blackman Santana, Eddie Palmieri, Lakecia Benjamin, Brian Lynch, the Mambo Legends and others. He teaches at the University of Hartford’s Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Division and has written two instructional books on jazz and Latin jazz. A three-time ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award winner, Curtis has also received major honors from Chamber Music America, DownBeat and the U.S. State Department’s Jazz Ambassadors program.