Singer-songwriter, pianist and arranger Nicole Zuraitis is already working on a new album after her sixth album How Love Begins, co-produced by Christian McBride, won the 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Zuraitis joined WBGO's Doug Doyle to talk about her soaring career. She says one of the first people she thought of when she was giving her acceptance speech for the Grammy was her late grandmother.
"She would always say you're interesting and you look at things differently. She always believed there was a way for me to thrive even if it takes me a little bit longer. Grammy was just so beautiful." Beautiful is just one of the words to describe How Love Begins.
Her award-winning collaboration with Christian McBride actually started in 2015 when she was singing and playing the piano at the Red Eye Grill across the street from Carnegie Hall. McBride was in the audience one of those nights.
"I was playing 'A Night In Tunisia' and I thought no one was listening because it was so busy and Christian was just standing there. I look up and he's pointing at me, saying, 'Where do I know you from?'"
Turns out that McBride had seen her perform a couple of months earlier at the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition at NJPAC.
"It was a kind of serendipitously beautiful moment. We became fast friends and the next thing you know we made this record."
It wasn't the first time Zuraitis received attention from the Grammy voters. In 2019, she and her husband and drummer Dan Pugach received a nomination for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for their version of Dolly Parton's classic song "Jolene.”
Zuraitis is the featured singer on the new Dan Pugach Big Band album Bianca that was released earlier this month.
Matchmaking friends introduced Nicole and Dan to each other and their relationship grew personally and professionally.
"It turns out that there's quite a few singer-drummer husband-wife combo situations. I don't know what the cosmic energy behind that is but Dan and I were friends first. He was one of the first people to tell me that I'm a jazz singer-songwriter. I didn't have the conventional trajectory of many jazz artists. I learned by listening. He said, 'You should play the piano, you wrote the songs.'"
Nicole and Dan live in Connecticut with their pitbull "Bella." Their beloved pet inspired Dan to write "Bella The Bear" on his Bianca album.
How Love Begins is her first record that features all original music. She says "20 Seconds" is the song that's she treasures the most.
"I find that when I let go of a piece that's the one that touches the audience the most. The audience is what matters most to me. It's not about me. '20 Seconds' is the one that tends to gravitate or at least draw people in with the storyline. That's the one I had the most trouble recording and the one on the record I'm most proud of."
Zuraitis says she's always been inspired by Ella Fitzgerald and Dolly Parton.
"I would say both of them were ahead of their time in every aspect. Ella Fitzgerald went through tremendous trials and tribulations just to be this icon. She could do no wrong in my mind. She's the one artist I've transcribed the most. I just think no one will ever be better. When I was growing up and before there was Women's History Month, Dolly Parton wrote incredible songs. She wrote 'I Will Always Love You' and 'Jolene' on the same day. As a songwriter, I'm thinking thank goodness for Dolly Parton, Ella Fitzgerald, Carole King, Nina Simone and all these incredible songwriters and interpreters of song that have paved the way."
During the interview, Zuraitis got emotional thinking about all the teachers who helped her career. She is giving back as well. Professor "Z" is a proud educator and currently part of the vocal faculty at NYU, SUNY Purchase and the Litchfield Jazz Camp.
You can SEE the entire interview with Nicole Zuraitis and meet "Bella" here.
