Brenda Earle Stokes - Motherhood

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 55:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 127,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:00) 1. The Endless Wait
(4:25) 2. This Is Your Childhood
(4:54) 3. Who Am I Now?
(5:05) 4. Where Are the Mothers?
(6:35) 5. Kathleen
(6:51) 6. Loose Tooth Blues
(4:57) 7. Saying Goodbye
(8:11) 8. Sharp Edges
(5:24) 9. The Strength of a Woman
(3:48) 10. Happy Mother's Day

Motherhood is a salient subject if ever there was one. Yet few jazz musicians ever touch on it in their work, never mind dedicating an entire record to the topic. The real or keenly felt need to keep up with the Joneses in a musical atmosphere that typically applauds and promotes standard bearers, hyper-masculine happenings, politically charged firebrands, and cutting-edge quests doesn't leave much room for an honest and open-hearted look at the scope of selflessness and self-discovery involved with maternal matters. The truth is that it takes serious bravery and being real two things that are in surprisingly short supply nowadays to show yourself and share a good deal about this journey, and Brenda Earle Stokes is one of the seemingly few willing to go here.

Consciously or not, this Canadian-born, New York City-based pianist-vocalist-composer began to contemplate exploring motherhood through song as she captured thoughts, fragments and lyrics in a notebook while pushing her young son's stroller around her neighborhood. Eight years later, during a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Stokes armed with her written musings, voice memos, perspective and experience(s) wrote eight compositions in nine days, essentially birthing this project.

Few stones are left unturned here as Stokes gives a candid look at motherhood in her own inimitable voice. "The Endless Wait" the opener, with some of the leader's most moving singing, plus ace trumpet work from Ingrid Jensen offers outward expression for the mind in pregnancy, contemplating possibilities, time and ties to the generations. In doing so it introduces confessional qualities in Stokes' songcraft that carry across the entire program.

Whether taking us through wonderful yet trying years of growth during "This is Your Childhood," processing identity at once lost, subsumed and discovered through parenting on the questioning "Who Am I Now?," exploring beauty and body issues (and society's role in aggravating and propagating both) in the gently flowing "Where Are The Mothers?," or the increased responsibilities and stresses that squeeze a woman with school-aged children on singer-songwriter gem "Kathleen," Stokes has a knack for removing blinders that a significant portion of the civilized world intentionally or willingly wears when it comes to matters of motherhood. And her bandmates Jensen, bassist Evan Gregor, drummer Ross Pederson, backing vocalists Melissa Stylianou and Nicole Zuraitis use their expertise to help flesh out her clear and communicative vision at every turn.

Weighty matters logically dominate this discourse, but Stokes has a real way of softening some of the blows and/or adding humor in her delivery. She uses "Loose Tooth Blues" as a hip trip into a second-grader's shoes, presents Mr. Potato Head as prime fodder in a talk of letting go and moving on during the emotion-raising "Saying Goodbye," and offers a rundown of modern society's ever-present dangers with humor-streaked, beat poet brilliance in "Sharp Edges." And when all of that is played, sung and done, there are the celebrations a supremely soulful "The Strength of a Woman" and laudatory "Happy Mother's Day" which elevate those who deserve to be on a pedestal ever so high in the sky. May this be the start of a jazz trend to recognize motherhood in all its truths, difficulties, joys and wonders.By Dan Bilawsky
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/motherhood-brenda-earle-stokes-self-produced

Personnel: Brenda Earle Stokes - voice and piano; Evan Gregor - bass; Ross Pederson - drums; Ingrid Jensen - trumpet; & Nicole Zuraitis - backing vocals

Motherhood

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Nicole Zuraitis - How Love Begins

Styles: Vocal Jazz

Year: 2023
Time: 48:08
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 110,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:16) 1. The Good Ways
(4:24) 2. Travel
(7:16) 3. Reverie
(3:40) 4. Let Me Love You
(3:46) 5. Burn
(5:05) 6. Two Fish
(4:21) 7. We Planned, Well Played)
(4:53) 8. 20 Seconds
(4:59) 9. Like Dew
(5:23) 10. The Garden

Outside In Music is thrilled to announce the release of How Love Begins, the provocative new release from jazz singer songwriter and vocal/instrumental powerhouse Nicole Zuraitis. Co-produced by bass luminary Christian McBride, How Love Begins is an ardent, vulnerable and relatable meditation on modern love that solidifies the GRAMMY nominated Zuraitis’ stature as one of the pre-eminent songwriters of our time. Alongside Zuraitis’ soaring vocals and pianistic refrains, How Love Begins features the aforementioned Christian McBride on the bass, Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Maya Kronfeld on organ, Wurlitzer and Rhodes, and Dan Pugach on drums. The album also features special guests David Cook on piano, Billy Kilson on drums and Sonica – a co-led vocal trio comprised of Thana Alexa, Julia Adamy and Zuraitis.

“Perhaps this album should have been called “How Love Begins… and Ends,”” Zuraitis says wryly, commenting on the duality she distinctly presents in the two-part structure of the release. To illustrate the many phases of love, she divides her 10-track collection in halves titled ‘part I: oil’ and ‘part II: water’. This format, which verifies the idea that “opposites attract”, embodies a story of romance initially blessed with harmony yet eventually plagued with discord.

Propelled by the notion that the polarity of love can often be coincidental, Zuraitis conceptualized ‘Oil’ and ‘Water’ spontaneously after a visceral reaction she had to the work of Spanish conservation photographer Daniel Beltrá. She stumbled upon his collection “Spill”, which at first glance looked to her like paintings with beautiful color patterns created from the brush of an artist. “When I learned that the stunnings works of art, with their swirling colors and perfectly placed hues, were actually aerial photographs of the most devastating oil spill in history, my heart sank,” she describes. “The irony was not lost on me. Just like a love that ends too soon, the common thread is that some of the most beautiful things in life can also be the most heartbreaking.”

The Deep Water Horizon oil spill destruction combined with the beautiful scope of Beltrá’s imagery struck a chord with Zuraitis. In effect, How Love Begins efforts to depict the all-encompassing journey of modern love, including the beauty of taking chances, the complexity of desire, the fragility of emotion, the blemishes left when chapters close and the long standing optimism of starting anew. The album was conceived between Zuraitis and Christian McBride in 2021 after several years of dreaming about collaborating. The musical partners first crossed paths at the Red Eye Grill in New York City where Zuraitis had a longstanding residency, just a few months after she placed in the International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition. Following many years of mutual admiration, the two artists finally come together on this fruitful collaboration.

“Working with Nicole was an absolute thrill. She does everything at the highest level: singing, playing, writing, producing, and arranging,” shares Christian McBride. “I’m putting big, big money on Nicole. I can’t wait to see her career explode.”

Musically, How Love Begins pays homage to many of Zuraitis’ favorite songwriters from Tin Pan Alley to today. Similar to the great composers of yesteryear, Zuraitis succeeded in composing material that is raw and relatable, with the potential of living on for generations. “I don’t want to be the only person singing these songs I write” she adds, fervently insisting that her goal is for jazz enthusiasts and professionals alike to add her songs to their repertoire.

The first section of How Love Begins, ‘part I: oil’, places the listener in a musical depiction of the thunderous excitement of a new flame that is just beginning, with slippery twists and turns. In “The Good Ways,” Zuraitis warns “You’re simply dangerous, like shock waves” and later “A little heat, a lot of spice / mysterious, never plays nice.” The adventure continues with “Travel” on which a broad, cinematic soundscape is presented by the rhythm section over which Zuraitis’ vocals soar, seemingly bursting with the desire to maintain the listeners autonomy and freedom.

She explores the vicissitudes of daydreams in her arrangement of the Debussy classic “Reverie” which has original lyrics penned by Zuraitis that meditate on how the mind grows occupied with “undeniable whirlpools of fantasy.” “Let Me Love You” is a poetic highlight with Zuraitis wrestling with the question: “Will you ever let me love you?” and later “Does this game ever end?” We’ve all been there before. But at least now we have a song that keeps us company.

The final piece of “part I” is “Burn” – an up-tempo and brisk jaunt, beginning with a notable counterpoint between Zuraitis and McBride. The band enters leading to a stellar guitar solo. Hekselman glides through the progression with angular lines, followed by McBride with a punchy, walking solo. The final lyric “I think i’ll finally try a new romance” conveniently sets the listener up for part II, though trepidation lurks.

Beginning the second section, ‘part II: water”, listeners dive into the deep with “Two Fish” where Zuraitis admires, “how great, the depth of their love”, painting a picture of storybook endings. The feel-good but filled with disquieting subtext of “Well Planned, Well Played” outlines a recipe for modern love, featuring “caffeine and affirmations”, despite being “deeply overwhelmed.” The album takes an emotional spiral with two thought-provoking numbers: “20 Seconds” and “Like Dew”. Ominous lyrics like “Alarm bells ring a warning sound” and “change flows like blood to the heart, while we’re growing further apart” set the scene. Though the fire was lit in part I, allusions to tears and water insinuate flames turning to smoke. “The Garden” comes full circle with melancholic optimism and acceptance, with the hope of starting again.

“If you listen a moment past the final track you may find faint glimmers of hope for the future, saved for a rainy day,” Zuraitis insinuates.

How Love Begins

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Nicole Zuraitis & Brandon Coleman - Live At The Two-Headed Calf

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:31
Size: 113,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:58) 1. Jolene
(6:17) 2. The Nearness Of You
(3:51) 3. Hallelujah, I Just Love Him So
(4:13) 4. Failing
(4:29) 5. Kansas City
(5:17) 6. Tennessee Whiskey
(4:36) 7. Take A Walk On The Wild Side
(5:24) 8. Angel Eyes
(4:58) 9. Sunny Side
(5:26) 10. How Blue Can You Get

Grammy® Nominated New York based musician Nicole Zuraitis blends clever songwriting skills, an effervescent presence and dazzling vocals in a consummate package that has thrilled audiences across Manhattan and across the world. If recently you happened upon Greenwich Village’s 55 Bar or Birdland Jazz Club and were enchanted by the seismic versatile talent of inspired vocalist, keyboard player and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis, you’re officially part of the lady-powerhouse burgeoning fan club.

Nicole was nominated dually with her husband Dan Pugach in the arrangement category the 61st annual Grammy® Awards for their version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”. Connecticut Magazine listed her in their “40 under 40 Class of 2020” and the WOW Forum hosted her as a guest of honor in the fall of 2019. She is the vocalist for the world famous Birdland Big Band in New York City and her album Hive Mind won Best Jazz Album in the 2018 International Music and Entertainment Awards.

In 2016 she won the New York City Songwriting Competition Coffee Music Project, in 2015 was the second runner-up in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and in 2014 won the Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Composer Award. She's also the People’s Choice and Johnny Mercer Award winner in the National American Traditions Vocal Competition. Her brand new project, Generations of Her: Women Songwriters and Lyricists of the last 100 years has sold out both the Birdland Theater and the Cell Theater in New York within months of its conception. Nicole has headlined Birdland, the Blue Note (NYC) and maintains residencies at the 55 Bar (every second Thursday of the month), Rockwood Music Hall (with the Dan Pugach Nonet), and Redeye Grill. Audiences love Nicole’s limitless enthusiasm, but that’s only part of her story; only part of her talent.

While pursuing a career that has spanned jazz, pop and classical, Nicole has collaborated with Cyrille Aimee, Thana Alexa, Dave Stryker, Livingston Taylor, Tom Chapin, Omar Hakim, Melanie Safka, Helen Sung and Bernard Purdie. She’s performed at festivals nationwide, and has recorded two albums: 2013’s Pariah Anthem and 2009’s Spread The Word, both releases featuring the cream of New York’s jazz hierarchy. Her newest album ALL WANDERING HEARTS will realese in May 2020 with Dot Time Records.https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/nicole-zuraitis

Awards: Grammy Nominee 2019. Best Instrumental and Vocal Arrangement, "Jolene" Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition runner up NYC Coffee Music Project Songwriting Winnner 2020 Connecticut Magazine Top 40 under 40 Herb Alpert ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award winner

Live At The Two-Headed Calf

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Thana Alexa, Nicole Zuraitis, Julia Adamy - Sonica

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:23
Size: 72,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:37) 1. Doyenne
(3:18) 2. Where Ya Gonna Go
(5:14) 3. Michicant
(4:22) 4. Come A Long Way
(4:51) 5. Love's In Need Of Love
(4:51) 6. Change It
(4:08) 7. Danny Boy

Powered by engrossing female harmonies and the dynamism of the female spirit, Sonica creates anthems for peace, love, and change. Largely an extension of vocalist, producer, and composer Thana Alexa’s ONA project, Sonica combines Alexa’s skills and vision with those of charismatic vocalist Nicole Zuraitis and bassist Julia Adamy.

Over the album’s brief 30 minutes, the trio combines jazz eclecticism with elements of pop, folk, and soul music, creating a kind of 21st-century hybrid Staple Singers built on intricate harmonies, hopeful messages, and mind-blowing drumming courtesy of Antonio Sánchez, Dan Pugach, and Ross Pederson.

Recorded and produced at Alexa’s home studio in New York, Sonica commences with “Doyenne,” which includes a spoken-word excerpt from women’s-rights activist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech “Ain’t I a Woman,” bookended with snippets of Gloria Steinem and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.

Consciously fashionable, the trio follows contemporary production throughout, as on a cover of Bon Iver’s “Michicant,” Zuraitis’ plaintive arrangement and performance a melancholic muse. A Zuraitis original, “Come a Long Way,” continues the somber tone, but with a wonderful sense of ebb and flow pushing and prodding the song’s central theme of mental-health advocacy.

A thoughtful, harmony-infused reading of Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today” precedes the album’s centerpiece, “Change It,” which crushes climate-change deniers with such pointed lyrics as “Watch the seas rise because we won’t compromise” and “Science isn’t a game/we must listen and admit we are to blame” over a heaving, body-jolting arrangement.

The album closes with a sentimental Irish favorite, “Danny Boy.” Notwithstanding that odd misstep in an album of bold activism, Sonica makes protest music hipsters, millennials, and even cave dwellers can embrace. By Ken Micallef
https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/sonica-sonica-outside-in/

Sonica

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Nicole Zuraitis - Pariah Anthem

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:37
Size: 93,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:44) 1. Stinger
(5:04) 2. Watercolors
(4:50) 3. Try, Love
(3:54) 4. Staring Into the Sun
(5:03) 5. To the Hive
(3:41) 6. Dagger
(4:33) 7. The Bridge
(4:32) 8. If Only for Today
(5:13) 9. Pariah Anthem

In my younger days, I used to frequent what we called “Wine and Cheese Cafés”, where you could usually find some very good and reasonably priced wines, a diverse assortment of cheeses and more often than not, an eclectic assortment of some of the best music around, setting the atmosphere. It was generally a mix of soft rock, mellow but funky R&B and tasty contemporary jazz of the type that was popularized by CTI Records. Often, I would hate to leave because the music mix was more intoxicating than any alcoholic beverage being served. Invariably, there would be an artist that captured that perfect mix of the genres and I would ask the waiter “Who is that playing now?” If now was then, I would have certainly asked about the music of Nicole Zuraitis.

Nicole Zuraitis is a young New York based singer/songwriter/keyboardist. The NYU graduate has performed or recorded with Winard Harper, Jane Monheit and Don Braden. Her own music as evidenced on Pariah Anthem, which is her second album, is a well crafted hybrid of rock, jazz and R&B, which fits very well around her impressive voice. And that voice is hard to ignore. On most selections, Ms. Zuraitis hangs out in that corner of the alto range that was once so well occupied by the great Angela Bofill. Then just as soon as you’ve gotten comfortable there, Ms. Zuraitis will suddenly sweep into a glissando through several octaves that places her close to Minnie Riperton territory. I couldn’t help but stop and take notice.

The songs on Pariah Anthem were all written by Zuraitis and many of them are quite good. “Secret” is sweetly soulful, with a swirl of jazz chords and a dreamy rhodes backdrop by Julian Shore. It sounds like a lost track from Ms. Bofill’s Angel of the Night album. “Staring Into the Sun” is a lovely duet between Ms. Zuraitis and Victor Gould’s piano. It gives her a chance to show off her remarkable range to great effect. “To The Hive” starts as an insistent jazz-rock tune that takes an unexpected turn with the addition of a Hindi verse by Indian singer Nandini Srikar. When Srikar and Zuraitis rush toward the coda in an English/ Hindi counterpoint, it is exhilarating. On “Dagger”, Ms. Zuraitis and company drop a nice neo-soul groove, led again by Julian Shore’s rhodes. This cat knows how to pull an atmosphere out of his keyboard. “If Only for Today” is a torchy ballad, performed again as a duet between Ms. Zuraitis and Mr. Gould. They are so good together that I would gladly listen to an evening of them playing duets.

Nicole Zuraitis is a gifted performer and Pariah Anthem is an album that will grow on you with repeated listening as the nuances reveal themselves. It’s music that doesn’t easily categorize itself. And you know what? That’s not a necessarily a bad thing. Keep an eye on Ms. Zuraitis, for I think that she has a bright future ahead of her.~By Curtis Davenport http://curtjazz.com/2014/02/11/album-review-nicole-zuraitis-pariah-anthem/

Personnel: Nicole Zuraitis, vocals, piano; Dan Pugach, drums; Scott Colberg, double bass; Julian Shore, rhodes, organ; Victor Gould, piano; Ilan Bar-Lavi, guitar; Billy Buss trumpet, flugelhorn; Jon Paul, acoustic guitar; Nandini Srikar, vocals

Pariah Anthem

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Nicole Zuraitis - Hive Mind

Size: 104,7 MB
Time: 45:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Move On (4:45)
02. Out Of My Heart (4:25)
03. The Inscription (4:45)
04. Idle (6:45)
05. Jolene (4:28)
06. Sunny Side (4:46)
07. Failing (4:06)
08. Episodes (3:54)
09. Pure Imagination (4:25)
10. Shirley's Waltz (2:42)

Vocalist and pianist Nicole Zuraitis has made a name for herself internationally as a jazz singer and songwriter. Nicole will release her album “Hive Mind” in September 2017 with Dot Time Records. She is the 2016 winner of the New York City Songwiting Competition Coffee Music Project, 2015 finalist in the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition at NJPAC, a 2014 winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert National Young Jazz Composers award and a semi finalist in the National American Traditions Vocal Competition in winter 2015, taking home both the People’s Choice Award and the Johnny Mercer Award. Her world music folk band EVA tours internationally alongside folk legends Livingston Taylor, Melanie Safka and Tom Chapin. As a sidewoman she fronts the Dan Pugach Nonet, joined The Omar Hakim Experience as a vocalist at the Iridium Jazz Club, sung background vocals for Maz of Snarky Puppy, and had the great pleasure of singing with Bernard Purdie, Kung Fu and Elise Testone recently at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. She is a proud member of the Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty and has lead her band on the MainStage of the Litchfield Jazz Festival twice, as well as appeared as a sideman with the Carmen Staaf Quintet. In August 2017 she will sing with the Litchfield Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Jen Allen on the MainStage of the Litchfield jazz Festival. She holds a residency at the iconic jazz club 55 bar once a month and headlined the Blue Note Jazz Club in March 2016.

In the Key of Monk

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Nicole Zuraitis - All Wandering Hearts

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:51
Size: 100,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:40) 1. Make it flood
(4:55) 2. The way home
(4:08) 3. I would die 4 u
(4:58) 4. Overdrive mind
(3:11) 5. What a wonderful world
(5:25) 6. Gold
(4:03) 7. Sugar spun girl
(4:48) 8. Rock bottom
(3:14) 9. Lullabye
(4:26) 10. Send me on my way

Nivoli Zuraitis has a heart full of soul and a voice full of sunshine. She's got a mix of things on her mind with her fourth album, everyday themes and weighty matters alike, and yet they ultimately come out sounding exuberant in her hands. The fundamental optimism is one key asset of All Wandering Hearts, even if her variety of jazzy coffee-shop balladry is no less eloquent in the spots when things get more somber.

The too-spirited-for-AOR "Make It Flood" starts off with subtly buoyant optimism to balance out its depiction of life's trials, and the set's original pieces keep that bright spirit as they touch on themes of change, loss, family and modern-day burnout. It's dressed up with an instrumental backing somewhere between contemporary jazz and the livelier side of adult-contemporary singer-songwriter pop. Husband Dan Pugach keeps the rhythms light yet propulsive while Alex Busby Smith's sprightly electric bass stays in step; the small cast of other players is likewise just as subtly energetic as needed.

While a recurrent string backing gives a dash of grandeur to back up several pieces, usually staying on the right side of bombastic, Zuraitis keeps any vocal theatrics on the judicious side. Her delivery maintains an intimate tone that remains relatable throughout; here she's an actress as much as a singer, conveying emotional shades without quite emoting. The positivity comes out most in the sporadic covers here, from a rubato "What a Wonderful World," rich in its wistful simplicity, to the reinvented '90s alt-rock staple that soars to the finish on clever new jazzy chordings and sweeping guitar. If "Sugar Spun Girl" crosses the line into cutesy or "Rock Bottom" leans trite (though genuine), those moments are temporary enough not to derail things. Hearts still gives all kinds of weary hearts a refreshing lift.~ Geno Thackara https://www.allaboutjazz.com/all-wandering-hearts-nicole-zuraitis-dot-time-records

Personnel: Nicole Zuraitis: voice / vocals; Idan Morim: guitar; Dan Pugach: drums; Alex Busby Smith: bass; Carmen Staaf: piano; Thana Alexa: voice / vocals; Elise Testone: voice / vocals; Chase Potter: various.

All Wandering Hearts

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Nicole Zuraitis - Hive Mind

Size: 104,7 MB
Time: 45:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Move On (4:45)
02. Out Of My Heart (4:25)
03. The Inscription (4:45)
04. Idle (6:45)
05. Jolene (4:28)
06. Sunny Side (4:46)
07. Failing (4:06)
08. Episodes (3:54)
09. Pure Imagination (4:25)
10. Shirley's Waltz (2:42)

Vocalist and pianist Nicole Zuraitis has made a name for herself internationally as a jazz singer and songwriter. Nicole will release her album “Hive Mind” in September 2017 with Dot Time Records. She is the 2016 winner of the New York City Songwiting Competition Coffee Music Project, 2015 finalist in the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition at NJPAC, a 2014 winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert National Young Jazz Composers award and a semi finalist in the National American Traditions Vocal Competition in winter 2015, taking home both the People’s Choice Award and the Johnny Mercer Award. Her world music folk band EVA tours internationally alongside folk legends Livingston Taylor, Melanie Safka and Tom Chapin. As a sidewoman she fronts the Dan Pugach Nonet, joined The Omar Hakim Experience as a vocalist at the Iridium Jazz Club, sung background vocals for Maz of Snarky Puppy, and had the great pleasure of singing with Bernard Purdie, Kung Fu and Elise Testone recently at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. She is a proud member of the Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty and has lead her band on the MainStage of the Litchfield Jazz Festival twice, as well as appeared as a sideman with the Carmen Staaf Quintet. In August 2017 she will sing with the Litchfield Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Jen Allen on the MainStage of the Litchfield jazz Festival. She holds a residency at the iconic jazz club 55 bar once a month and headlined the Blue Note Jazz Club in March 2016.

Hive Mind

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Nicole Zuraitis - Spread the Word

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:08
Size: 105,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:18)  1. Cheek to Cheek
(3:40)  2. Spread the Word
(5:15)  3. Embraceable You
(2:16)  4. Deed I Do
(4:41)  5. There Is No Greater Love
(3:39)  6. L-O-V-E
(4:33)  7. Don't Go To Strangers
(5:01)  8. Crazy He Calls Me
(5:18)  9. Tea for Two
(5:22) 10. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?

Twenty-three year old vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, a native of Litchfield, CT, is a recent graduate from New York University (2007). Nicole began attending the Litchfield Jazz Camp when she was only 12 years old and is about to debut on the mainstage of the Litchfield Jazz Festival on August 2nd. While she studied mainly classical voice at NYU, Nicole took advantage of everything New York City had to offer by attending all kinds of live performances which strongly influenced her unique ear and sensibility for jazz. Nicole has performed from NYC to Italy and in 2006 she won 1st place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing University Competition in New York City. 

Currently she is a singer/songwriter, pianist (you can hear her play piano and sing on the track \"What are you doing the rest of your life?\"), and member of the Yale University Choir. She also has been asked to commit to a tour of the United States with world famous tenor, Michael Kleitman. Nicole has been fortunate to perform for and learn from Dena Derose, Don Braden, Mario Pavone, Karrin Allyson, Bill Henderson and many others. A self proclaimed perfectionist, Nicole\'s voice is as pure and melodious as they come. The Nicole Zuraitis Quartet is Nicole Zuraitis on vocals, Zaccai Curtis on piano, Luques Curtis on bass and Winard Harper on drums. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/nicolezuraitis

Spread the Word

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