Great Barrington — They must have coined the word “versatile” to describe the musicianship of Nicole Zuraitis, who will appear at Tanglewood’s Linde Center for Music and Learning on November 15. Her singing, alone, is a Swiss army knife of myriad styles and genres, traces of which spill out in lines executed with palpable ease. But her keyboard chops are no less impressive, and your ears tell you that she feels every note she plays. But Nicole is also a songwriter of prodigious capability. Her songs are smart and classy—and, yes, she knows how to write in the tradition of the Great American Songbook.
Zuraitis has everything it takes to displace Diana Krall as the next Queen of Jazz. All she needs now is a little time—and two GRAMMY nominations (announced the day of this interview) for her husband Dan’s latest big-band album is not going to damage her prospects, as she is the band’s vocalist. Her own album “How Love Begins,” won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
The Dan Pugach Big Band is Nicole’s side gig, and it dovetails nicely with her solo projects. If you crave novelty in jazz music but don’t care for hard bop et al., then you should know that, between the two of them, these two jazz pioneers have prepared a feast for you that will probably tempt you to overindulge. Zuraitis wrote all of the music on Friday’s program. They will be joined at the Linde Center by bassist Sam Weber and guitarist Idan Morim.
Both Nicole and Dan announce their intention to innovate in every song they perform together. They both seem to have a taste for jazz music that is completely free of musty old relics. The music they make together overflows with supremely tasteful novelty, and you can hear it right away on every cut. It really is like breathing fresh air. It is no wonder these people win GRAMMY awards.
Nicole is an activist. Her 2023 album release coincided with a self-produced music festival and day of activism for Save the Sound. Also, she and her husband are dog lovers. Dan has fostered and rehabilitated pit bulls from New York City shelters for over a decade, and Nicole has been a part of it.
I spoke last week with Nicole via Zoom. You will not meet a more affable individual. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
EDGE
After listening to a little bit of “How Love Begins,” I must say, it’s nice to hear a new jazz record that actually sounds new, like no jazz record I’ve heard before.
ZURAITIS
Oh, I love that so much. Can I quote you on that?
EDGE
Of course! If “Love Begins” hadn’t won a GRAMMY, it would mean there is something wrong—something amiss in the universe, because it really stands out.
ZURAITIS
Oh, my God, that’s so beautiful. I’m really going to quote you.
EDGE
It’s really a pleasure to talk to a female jazz singer and not have to keep mentioning Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.
ZURAITIS
Honest to God, enough is enough!
EDGE
I mean, I love those singers, but I don’t know how many more singers that sound exactly like them we really need.
ZURAITIS
Are we best friends? Is that what’s happening? Are we best friends?
EDGE
The influences I hear in your music are unlike anything I’ve heard before on a jazz record. I even heard gospel chords! And in your vocals, I hear R&B and soul. That’s really enjoyable. And then, you’re a blues singer. You could do nothing but straight-up blues and everyone would be pleased.
ZURAITIS
My mother would be thrilled to hear you say that. That’s all she wants me to do is make a blues record.
EDGE
Do you think you’ll do that at some point?
ZURAITIS
When my voice starts to go, I’m going to have to really lean into the blues. And I’ll really sing.
EDGE
I want you to say something about Christian McBride, because what an amazing presence he has on that record! Tell us a few things about working with him.
ZURAITIS
Well, he’s the best bass player in the world. I mean, every time I see him play live, I am just floored by his feel and his time, and his feel and time are also matched by his charisma and kindness. So it was beautiful to have him in the studio, because he was just very joyful to be around.
EDGE
You and Dan co-produced that record?
ZURAITIS
Yep. And my friend Kabir Sehgal. So it was Christian McBride, myself, and Kabir Sehgal, and then Dan associate produced it.
EDGE
You’ve hit on a magical combination of musicians that I hope you’ll revisit in the future. Something I noticed early on in the very first cut is the organ. It’s kind of like old-fashioned blues organ at times, but then at other times, it really sounds like a gospel player.
ZURAITIS
Maya Kronfeld played beautifully. I’ve always loved the way she plays from the heart and the soul. She doesn’t play from the brain, which I appreciate, because I think a lot of jazz musicians play from an intellectual perspective instead of a soulful perspective. And I believe in the latter.
EDGE
So you wrote, or co-wrote all the songs on “How Love Begins”?
ZURAITIS
I wrote all of them. And I arranged them, too. It’s funny to say “arranged,” because half of what I love about jazz is that when I present to someone a piece of music that I wrote and arranged, I still rely on the jazz musicians to play it with their own feel. So it’s almost like we all arranged them together in the studio or on stage.
EDGE
But first, you established a solid foundation to play on. And you did it right.
ZURAITIS
I make the mix of the cake, and then we all go and bake it.
EDGE
It’s a good recipe. Let’s talk about the songs for a minute, because that’s really why people should come to this concert. Why is it different than any other jazz concert they might go to? I can answer that question myself, but I want to hear you talk about the songs, because that’s what it’s all about. And maybe start with your favorite songs on that record?
ZURAITIS
I hear a lot of things that I would change in the music. But personally, as a band, we love to play “20 Seconds.” We love playing “Two Fish,” “Travel,” and I personally love to play “Reverie,” because that’s my adaptation of the Debussy piece, which I put my own lyrics on.
I think what separates our show from many other jazz shows is that I consider myself an entertainer, not just a singer. It’s important to me that the audience is having just as much fun as I’m having, or at least they’re having a cathartic experience. A lot of jazz is people playing inward. And I like to play out. My band has been together for years, and we don’t read music on stage. We’re playing like we’re the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but it’s jazz.
EDGE
No sheet music on stage? That can make a huge difference!
ZURAITIS
I think it makes a gigantic difference that we’re a real band with musicians who know and love and respect the music. It’s not pickup, it’s not standards. We do throw in standards, because that is the root of why we love this music. So the audience can expect to hear some standards, some songs that will surprise them, like covers like “Jolene,” but then also songs that I wrote with the intention of sounding a little bit more like the Great American Songbook, while also trying to be as innovative as I can possibly be to keep the genre of jazz moving forward.
I would also say to prospective audiences that, just on a purely business level, it’s a really wild time to be a full-time artist. And so the best way to support an independent artist is to buy a ticket to something in advance. Because there’s nothing like live performance. I love being on stage more than I like anything else. Maybe dogs. Dogs, I love dogs the most. But being on stage brings me joy. And I hope that people would leave our show feeling joy.
EDGE
You have more GRAMMY news.
ZURAITIS
We haven’t announced it yet, but today, Dan Pugach and I were nominated for best jazz performance for our song “Little Fears” and also for best large-ensemble jazz album, which is for big band, for the album “Bianca Reimagined.” And we donate partial proceeds to shelter rescues that we work with that pull pit bulls from New York City, and we’ve been doing that since 2010. That’s just a nice little thing that we would like to draw attention to.
Oh! And it’s also like a bucket-list thing for me to play Tanglewood, so that’s really exciting for me. If you guys want to put that in writing, that would be amazing.
EDGE
Well, I can tell you that you’re replacing Diana Krall in my book. Seriously. I would tell anybody that.
ZURAITIS
I love you.
* * *
Hear jazz vocalist/arranger/pianist Nicole Zuraitis and her quartet in Studio E at Tanglewood’s Linde Center for Music and Learning on Friday, November 15, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.
