{"id":24812,"date":"2025-05-19T12:49:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T10:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zenart.it\/professionisti\/nicole-zuraitis\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T09:21:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T07:21:38","slug":"nicole-zuraitis","status":"publish","type":"cpt_portfolio","link":"https:\/\/zenart.it\/en\/professionisti\/nicole-zuraitis\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicole Zuraitis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nicole Zuraitis<\/strong> is a GRAMMY\u00ae winning and 4X GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist and arranger, New York-based bandleader, and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition<\/strong> Gold Medal. With a \u201cheart as big as her remarkable voice,\u201d (Jazz Police), Nicole is a trailblazing artist who is redefining vocal jazz, earning her a place as one of the top artists and \u201cprolific songwriters\u201d (Broadway World) to watch in jazz and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a recording artist, Nicole has released five albums as leader, and her sixth album How Love Begins<\/strong>, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride<\/strong>, features all original music and was awarded the 2024 GRAMMY for BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM<\/strong>. Nicole is the only artist ever to have won this award who wrote and arranged the entire album herself. In addition to leading her quartet, Nicole performed and recorded with the Birdland Big Band<\/strong> as premier vocalist before taking off as a large ensemble leader of her own, co-producing the Dan Pugach Big Band and guesting for major European big bands. She has headlined at Newport Jazz Festival, along with iconic NYC jazz clubs like Dizzy\u2019s Club at Lincoln Center, Birdland, the Blue Note, the Carlyle, 54 Below and the late, great 55 Bar. She has appeared as a featured soloist with the Savannah Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, and Macon Pops, and has supported iconic singers like Melanie, Morgan James, Darren Criss, and Livingston Taylor on piano and vocals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicole is a featured artist and producer on her husband, renowned drummer, bandleader, and composer Dan Pugach\u2019s 2025 GRAMMY-nominated album, \u201cBianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence\u201d (Best Large Ensemble) for which they composed the GRAMMY-nominated song, \u201cLittle Fears\u201d (Best Jazz Performance). Nicole\u2019s arrangement of Dolly Parton\u2019s Jolene, co-written with renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY\u00ae, springboarding her career and making her a household name in the modern-day jazz landscape. In 2020, she was named in the top 40 under 40 for 2020 in Connecticut Magazine, and her weekly livestream during the Covid-19 crisis, \u201cVirtual Piano Lounge,\u201d was featured in Forbes Magazine.  Nicole has collaborated with an extensive list of luminaries, including Christian McBride, David Cook, Gilad Hekselman, Veronica Swift, Benny Benack, Stephen Feifke, Cyrille Aimee, Antonio Sanchez, Dave Stryker, Omar Hakim, Rachel Z, Helen Sung, and Bernard Purdie. She is a proud educator and currently vocal faculty at NYU and SUNY Purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ardent activist with a decade-long track record of giving back, her 2023 album release coincided with a self-produced music festival and day of activism for Save the Sound.Org. In 2024, Post University awarded Nicole an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. For more information, visit www.nicolezmusic.com or tag @nicolezmusic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n