Last Tuesday, Grammy award-winning jazz pianist, and former Artist Associate in Jazz Piano at the College, Zaccai Curtis and his sextet visited the College, hosting masterclasses for jazz students and performing in the Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall. Alongside Curtis, the sextet was composed of his brother Luques Curtis (bass), Camilo Molina (conga), Reinaldo de Jesus (bongo and bell), Willie Martinez (timbale), and Jeremy Bosch (flute). The event was co-sponsored by the Latino/a Studies and music departments, as well as the Jazz Ensemble Program and Purple Note, a student-led jazz club. Artist in Residence in Jazz Activities and Lecturer in Music Kris Allen, who directs the Williams Jazz Orchestra and several other jazz ensembles, also helped organize the event.
Purple Note, led by co-presidents Mike Ma ’26 and Sachin Kirtane ’26, helped welcome Curtis back to the College. “That included getting food with them […] and all sorts of things like that, which is lots of fun,” Ma said.
The sextet started the day with a visit to Allen’s course “A History of Jazz,” where they discussed the impacts of many of their influences, including Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian, and South American music styles. “What we went over in the masterclass is getting an understanding of feeling all those rhythms, but using one beat,” Luques Curtis shared in an interview with the Record.
The sextet also encouraged independent musical pursuit in addition to learning in an academic setting. Improvement in jazz playing happens by “taking a liking to it or just being curious,” Luques said. And I think it’s like that with everything, but especially this type of music.”
Hearing the band break down its process was meaningful for the students. “It was super inspiring to hear [the band’s] stories and to see how they composed and played with each other in a smaller setting,” said Vivian Johnson ’27, a student in the class.
Following their first meeting in 1991 as teenagers in an after-school arts collective, Allen and Curtis have played on each others’ albums, gigged, and collaborated at the College. Allen described the Curtis family as “militantly hospitable.” Curtis was at the College between 2020 and 2022, during which he instructed combo and piano students in addition to participating in faculty showcase performances.
In addition to speaking with Allen’s class, the sextet also offered a masterclass for members of the College’s jazz ensembles more broadly. These teach-in sessions — distinct from classical masterclasses, which are known for their critiques of student performances — were centered on feeling out the music and playing collaboratively in a band setting.
For the show, Curtis played a selection from his 2024 album Cubop Lives, which won the 2025 Grammy award for best Latin Jazz album. The project explored Afro-Cuban styles, spanning fast-paced grooves like “Earl” to Curtis’ rendition of the “Maple Leaf Rag,” a Latin twist on the classic Scott Joplin tune.
Towards the end of the set, Curtis beckoned to Allen to join the band with his saxophone, which, to the delight of his students, he did. Allen frequently warns them to expect unexpected jam sessions. This jazzy custom came as no surprise to Allen. “With a friend like that, yeah, I’ll probably expect that would happen,” he said.
For many, a percussion section that included timbale, conga, and bongo was a unique experience. “It was a different type of jazz than what I had previously been exposed to,” concert attendee Isabel Beckrich ’27 said. “So it was really awesome. Super dope.”
Curtis’ concert was an entry into the jazz world for some students, and the Purple Note hopes to extend that pathway. The club aims to draw students of all backgrounds into jazz, Ma explained. “People who play, even people who mostly like to listen, are welcome in Purple Note,” he said.
The novelty of Afro-Cuban jazz up close for many students was not lost on Allen. “It’s fun and obviously rewarding and encouraging to me as an artist to see people get lit up about [jazz] for the first time,” he said. “That’s a hopeful thing, we always have to contend with feelings of paranoia of like, ‘Oh, man, is this thing […] that I’m doing on its way out?’”
