T. Howard Curtis III

T. Howard Curtis III is a drummer, percussionist and educator with extensive international performance, recording and teaching experience in jazz. Throughout his career, he has worked with numerous influential musicians and ensembles from the international jazz scene.

Teaching experience

Since 2026: Lecturer for Drums and Ensemble at JAM MUSIC LAB Private University

Since 2010: Full Professor of Music and Head of the Jazz Drum Department at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz

2006–2010: University Guest Professor and Head of the Jazz Drum Department at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz

2001–2005: Professor of Drums, Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

1992–2005: Professor of Drums, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

1983–1992: Instructor of Percussion, Hampton University

Artistic activity

T. Howard Curtis III has performed and/or recorded with John Abercrombie, David Fathead Newman, Andrew White, Billy Harper, Rosemary Clooney, Carter Jefferson, Herb Jeffries, Jimmy Hamilton, David Liebman, Amiri Baraka, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Chris Vadala, Jon Metzger, John Dearth, Jon Faddis, Mark Murphy, Joe Kennedy, Jimmy Heath, Karlheinz Miklin, Clark Terry, Barry Harris, George Coleman, Marc Johnson, Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, James Carter, Ingrid Jensen, David Kikoski, Bennie Wallace, Frank Foster, Jerry Bergonzi, Mike Richmond, Joe Locke, Lonnie Liston Smith, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mulgrew Miller, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer, Greg Osby, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton, Don Menza, Dena DeRose, Carla Cook, Renato Chicco, Eddie Gomez, Piotr Baron, Steve Wilson, Jim McNeely, Kenny Rankin, Karl Ratzer, Jeremy Pelt, Charlie Haden and the Liberation Orchestra, Amina Claudine Myers, Wolfgang Puschnig, Bill Evans, Roberta Gambarini, Joe Chambers, Melissa Aldana, Han Bennink, Jonathan Kreisberg, Jure Pukl, Robben Ford, Randy Brecker and Warren Smith.

Concert activity / Festivals

His concert activity has taken him to international festivals and venues, including Hampton Jazz Festival, Hilton Head Jazz, Monterey Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, LaVillette, Novi Sad Jazz Festival, DC Free Jazz Festival, Ljubljana Jazz Festival, Kongsberg Arts Festival, Vienna Jazz Festival, Jazz Baltica, Jazz and Blues Festival Zadar and Kragujevac Jazz Festival.

He has also performed in numerous countries and renowned venues, including England, Poland, the Canary Islands, Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Russia, Slovakia, Germany, Norway and the Czech Republic, as well as The Blue Note, The Jazz Standard, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Blues Alley, The Green Dolphin, The One Step Down, Getty Museum, Yoshi’s San Francisco, Porgy and Bess, Stockwerk Graz, Unterfahrt Munich, Nardis Istanbul, Bird’s Eye Basel, A-Trane Berlin and Budapest Jazz Club.

Awards & recognition

A recording with David Liebman received 4.5 stars in DownBeat Magazine. A video by Rene Marie, in which T. Howard Curtis III was involved, received a Grammy nomination. In a review of a recording by Jure Pukl, David Liebman highlighted Curtis’ playing and described him as an experienced jazz artist with great physical energy.