There’s an old drummer joke that goes like this: What’s the last thing a drummer says in a band?

“Hey, how about we try one of my songs?”

That joke does not apply to local jazz drummer Curtis Nowosad (it’s pronounced know-a-sad), whose debut album The Skeptic & the Cynic contains six cover songs he arranged, as well as two songs he wrote himself.

Nowosad’s mother gave him some piano lessons when he was seven years old, and he returned to the instrument when he got into jazz so that he could better understand what his fellow musicians were doing when they played together.

“I had some good teachers around me that basically told me the only way I’m going to be able to play with other musicians is if I understand the music they’re playing,” explains the 24-year-old, who celebrates the release of The Skeptic & the Cynic with a performance at the Park Theatre tonight (Thursday, Nov. 8).

“That meant learning tunes on the piano … learning how to voice chords - all these things. From there, you learn a little bit at a time. And that’s, I think, the most valuable thing that a young drummer can learn to do because you can hear the difference in a drummer that knows the tunes and can hear, musically, what’s happening, versus someone who’s just playing the drums.”

“ Learning music is the most valuable thing that a young drummer can learn to do because you can hear the difference in a drummer that knows the tunes and can hear, musically, what’s happening, versus someone who’s just playing the drums.

Curtis Nowosad

Since he started playing music professionally at the age of 18, Nowosad has made a name for himself as one of Winnipeg’s premier drummers. He’s sat behind the kit for jazz musicians like Keith Price and Steve Kirby, and he plays hip hop with Ismaila Alfa and rock covers with All the King’s Men.

His musical versatility is apparent on The Skeptic & the Cynic, which includes jazz interpretations of songs by Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Black Star and 2Pac.

He says covering popular songs can help people who might not necessarily like jazz get into his music.

“I don’t think it was (my) main reason for doing it, but it was in there subconsciously,” he says. “It’s easier for someone who’s not necessarily an initiated jazz listener to grasp the music if they recognize the song. I’m not trying to pander to the audience or anything, but … I like being able to include people in (my music) and show people that (jazz) is not this crazy thing that’s hard to understand. It’s a way of approaching music, no matter what the source material is - Pink Floyd or Charlie Parker or whatever.”

Nowosad recorded the album at the end of June with a powerhouse line-up of musicians that includes Jimmy Greene on tenor saxophone, Derrick Gardner on trumpet, Will Bonness on piano and keyboards, Steve Kirby and Julian Bradford on bass, and special guests Laurent Roy on guitar and two-time Grammy nominee Taylor Eigsti on piano. 

Many of those musicians will perform with Nowosad at the album release show.

In the coming months, he hopes to tour in support of the record.

“I can’t just wait for other people ... to get my name out there for me,” he says. “A lot of people in town know who I am at this point, and I’ve got a few friends across the country who know who I am, but outside of that I don’t think people really know who I am.

“So that’s a big part of putting out the record as well, is trying to take hold of my career in a way, and trying get my music out there and my musical identity so that hopefully someone listens.”