Dr. Curtis Andrews
Dr. Curtis Andrews is a Canadian-based musician with global persuasions. A percussionist/composer/teacher who creates music that is informed by his many years of experience with West African, South Indian and jazz traditions yet transcends most categories.
Raised in the town of Carbonear, Newfoundland, Curtis taught himself to play the drumset as a youth after being inspired by recordings of Max Roach, late 80’s/early 90’s hip-hop and heavy metal. A graduate of York University, his personal musical journeys over the years have extended to villages and metropolises of Ghana, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and he has developed a deep knowledge of the history, culture and performance of music from these areas. His personal mentors have included (the late) Don Wherry (1997-2001), Trichy Sankaran (1999-present) and Frederick Kwasi Dunyo (1998-present). He continues to perform/study with these masters whenever possible.
After a decade of performing with a broad range of artists in Newfoundland, in December 2008 he released his first debut album entitled The Offering of Curtis Andrews, a collection of 12 original pieces that draw from his studies and travels in Asia, Africa and at home in North America. An award-winning effort, it gained steady praise as some of the most original and refreshing music to come out of Newfoundland in recent years. With this album he was awarded the 2009 "Male Artist of the Year" and "Instrumental Artist of the Year" by MusicNL. In the same year, he was awarded the Atlantis Prize from The Scope magazine, which recognizes the best album of 2009 released in NL, based on artistic content rather than sales.
Upon relocating to Vancouver, BC in 2009 Andrews has made consistent friendships and associations with a diverse range of artists. In collaboration with Dr. Kofi Gbolonyo, he co-founded Adanu Habobo, a drum-dance ensemble dedicated to the traditional music of West Africa. He holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of British Columbia.
Besides his artistic and academic endeavours, Andrews has had a long-standing relationship with rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana. Since his first visit to Dagbamete in 1999, he has returned almost yearly since 2007, each year returning to the same communities of Dagbamete and Dzogadze, reinforcing and expanding his relationships to these communities. In 2007 he co-founded the Dzogadze Education Development Foundation along with his friend Ledzi Agudzeamegah. Through this institution, numerous infrastructure and educational projects have been successfully executed, most notably the construction of a 3-room school block and a piped water reservoir system.