Nicole Zuraitis Explained

Nicole Zuraitis
Birth Place:Waterbury, Connecticut
Genre:Jazz, Pop
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Voice, piano

Nicole Zuraitis is a Grammy-winning American jazz vocalist, pianist, songwriter and arranger.[1] [2] [3]

Biography

Early life

Nicole Zuraitis grew up in Connecticut. She attended Litchfield public schools as well as Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, Connecticut.[4]

Music studies

Zuraitis began to sing jazz with a local community college big band after being encouraged by her high school music director. She also frequently attended Litchfield Jazz Camp, which she attributes to her early interest in jazz.[5] [6] [7]

Zuraitis studied classical voice at New York University. After a brief period performing opera professionally after graduation, she moved back to New York City to pursue songwriting and jazz in 2009.[8] [9] [10] [11]

Music career

Zuraitis has released six albums as leader. Her sixth album How Love Begins was co-produced by Christian McBride in 2023.[12] The album won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.[13] Zuraitis is also the premier vocalist for the Birdland Big Band and frequently performs at jazz Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Birdland, the Blue Note Jazz Club, the Carlyle at the Carlyle Hotel, 54 Below and the 55 Bar. She has appeared as a featured soloist with the Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra, Asheville Symphony Orchestra, and Macon Pops and has supported iconic singers like Melanie, Morgan James, Darren Criss and Livingston Taylor on piano and vocals.

Zuraitis's arrangement of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", co-written with drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 Grammy,.[14] Zuraitis has collaborated with Christian McBride, David Cook, Gilad Hekselman, Veronica Swift, Benny Benack, Stephen Feifke, Cyrille Aimee, Antonio Sanchez (drummer), Dave Stryker, Omar Hakim, Rachel Z, Helen Sung, and Bernard Purdie.[15]

Teaching

Zuraitis currently teaches at the vocal faculty at New York University,[16] and at the jazz vocal faculty at the State University of New York at Purchase.[17] She is a Jazz Vocal Instructor at Litchfield Jazz Camp.[18]

Awards

Zuraitis' performance of Dolly Parton’s Jolene (song) in collaboration with the Dan Pugach Nonet received a Grammy Award nomination in 2019 for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals.[19] Her album How Love Begins earned Nicole her second Grammy Award nomination and first award win in 2024 for Best Jazz Vocal Album.[20] Nicole is the only person or female, as of 2024, to have ever won Best Jazz Vocal album for a recording completely written and arranged by the artist herself.[21]

In 2020, Broadway World nominated Zuraitis for five Cabaret Awards. Additionally, she was the 2016 Coffee Music Project New York Songwriting Project winner and 2015 runner-up in The Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Zuraitis was named in Connecticut Magazine's "40 under 40". She received the IMEA Best Jazz Album award, the Johnny Mercer Award in the American Traditions Competition and the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer award.[2] [22] [23] [24] [6] She won the 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal.[25]

Personal life

Zuraitis married drummer and composer Dan Pugach in 2018.[26] They currently live in Connecticut.[27] She is of Lithuanian descent through her paternal grandfather.[28]

Discography

As leader

As group

As guest

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Artist: Nicole Zuraitis . Grammy . 2021-02-02.
  2. Grammys 2019 Nominees: The Complete List . Joe . Lynch . Billboard . 2021-02-02.
  3. Grammys 2019: See All the Winners . Time . 2021-02-02.
  4. Web site: Jazz Singer Nicole Zuratis To Perform At Atheneum. Owen . McNally . Hartford Courant . 2021-02-02.
  5. Web site: Singer/songwriter Nicole Zuraitis gets nod from the Grammys. Joseph . Montebello . Litchfield County Times. 2 January 2019 . 2021-02-02.
  6. Web site: 40 Under 40: The Class of 2020 . Ofgang, Wollschlager, Yuravich, Cohen, Goncalves, Brown . Connecticut Magazine. 27 January 2020. 2021-02-02.
  7. Web site: A Lilt, a Bounce . Debbie . Burke . Debbie Burke Jazz Author . December 2018 . 2021-02-02.
  8. Web site: Nyberg: Nicole Zuraitis, Grammy nominated singer, songwriter, composer . Ann . Nyberg . News 8. 10 July 2019 . 2021-02-02.
  9. Web site: Newlywed jazz artists Nicole Zuraitis and Dan Pugach are dually Grammy nominated for their arrangement of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" . ArtVoice . 2021-02-02.
  10. Web site: 25 NYU'ers Nominated for 37 Grammy Awards . NYU . 2021-02-02.
  11. News: Events in Connecticut for Nov. 2-8, 2014 . The New York Times. 30 October 2014. 2021-02-02.
  12. Web site: Nicole Zuraitis How Love Begins Album . Outside In Music . 7 July 2023 . JMI & OiM . 23 November 2023.
  13. Web site: Enos . Morgan . 2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List . Grammy Awards . Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences . 23 November 2023.
  14. Web site: 2019 Grammy Awards: Complete Nominees and Winners List . Grammy Awards . Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences . 23 November 2023.
  15. Web site: The Nicole Zuraitis Quartet . The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center . November 2023 . The Arts Council, Inc. . 23 November 2023.
  16. Web site: Nicole Zuraitis . NYU – Steinhardt . New York University . 23 November 2023.
  17. Web site: Nicole Zuraitis . Jazz Studies . Purchase College State University of New York . 23 November 2023.
  18. Web site: Nicole Zuraitis . Litchfield Jazz Camp . Litchfield Performing Arts, Inc. . 23 November 2023.
  19. Web site: Montebello . Joseph . Singer/songwriter Nicole Zuraitis gets nod from the Grammys . CT Insider . February 11, 2022 . October 3, 2022.
  20. Web site: Grammy Awards . Grammy Awards . Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences . 10 November 2023.
  21. Web site: Esperanza Spalding – 12 Little Spells . Discogs . Discogs . 20 August 2024.
  22. Web site: 2019 Grammy Awards: Complete list of nominations . Los Angeles Daily . 7 December 2018. 2021-02-02.
  23. Web site: Here Are the 2019 Grammy Winners . GQ . 11 February 2019. 2021-02-02.
  24. Web site: NJPAC Honors Sarah Vaughan with Annual Jazz Vocal Competition . Maddie . Orten . NJ Spotlight News . 2021-02-02.
  25. Web site: Hall of Fame: Previous Competitions . American Traditions Vocal Collection . American Traditions Vocal Collection, Inc. . 22 November 2023.
  26. Web site: Nicole Zuraitis . All About Jazz . All About Jazz & Jazz Near You . 23 November 2023.
  27. Web site: Ofgang . Erik . Wollschlager . Mike . Yuravich . Albie . Shameer Cohen . Sherry . Goncalves . Nicole . Brown . Pamela . Connecticut Magazine's 40 Under 40, class of 2020 . ctpost.com . Hearst Media Services CT . 23 November 2023.
  28. Web site: KLAIPĖDA JAZZ ORCHESTRA ANF NICOLE ZURAITIS (USA) | Birstonas jazz.
  29. Web site: Nicole Zuraitis EP Release Concert . Drom . DromNYC . 23 November 2023.
  30. Web site: Enos . Morgan . 2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Winners & Nominees List . Grammy Awards . Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences . 5 February 2024.
  31. Web site: Bilawsky . Dan . Album Review: Nicole Zuraitis: How Love Begins . All About Jazz . 25 August 2023 . All About Jazz & Jazz Near You . 10 November 2023.
  32. Web site: Sonica . Spotify . 23 November 2023.

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