Nicole Zuraitis is living the dream
This year some of the biggest names in jazz along with some of the brightest and newest creative voices on the scene today were on hand to celebrate the Newport Jazz Festival’s 70th anniversary. Artists from all over the world converged at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island for three days of performances, food, and fellowship while sold-out crowds endured the heat and exceptionally long lines just to bear witness. What jazz impresario George Wein created to celebrate jazz music and its innovators has grown into an event that’s become synonymous with excellence. It’s become a place where the new meets the old, where jazz exists in its purest form and then gets turned on its ear, it’s where anything is possible, and what’s possible is free to be.
One artist who performed at this year’s festival was the 2024 Grammy Award-winning Best Jazz Vocal Album recipient Nicole Zuraitis. The singer-songwriter (who lives in Connecticut with her husband drummer Dan Pugach) took the music world by storm earlier this year when she won the coveted Grammy over some of jazz music’s vocal favorites including Cecile McLorin Salvant, Esperanza Spalding, Gretchen Parlato, and Patti Austin. Since then, Zuraitis’ star has continued to rise, and she couldn’t be more ready. The singer has released six recordings as a leader independently (the last being her Grammy Award-winning work “How Love Begins”) and she’s become a regular part of the jazz scene in New York City. Her music career is far-reaching: she’s a self-taught pianist, she teaches voice at a university in the City, has performed with some of the country's most highly regarded big bands, writes and arranges her own music, and she regularly collaborates with her husband’s band the Dan Pugach Nonet. “Being on stage and singing, there’s no place I’d rather be than the stage and there’s nothing I love more than singing,” Zuraitis said during our sit down the day before her performance at Newport.
When speaking about her love for music and this year’s Grammy win, Zuraitis was visibly still in disbelief at the accomplishment. Her previous recordings weren’t always accepted as jazz, so the enormity of her achievement wasn’t lost on her. “Winning the Grammy, my peers voted for that album. I didn’t go to school for jazz (Zuraitis studied classical voice at New York University), but I had to study the language and the tradition [of the music] to get here. It doesn’t matter what I did before. It doesn’t matter what any of the other nominees did before, it’s about the best music that year as chosen by your peers. It’s a moment. It was unbelievable.” It may have been that moment that led to Zuraitis experiencing another unbelievable event: her first performance at the 70th annual Newport Jazz Festival.
During her set at Newport, Zuraitis performed original work in addition to her take on Dolly Parton’s hit song “Jolene,” a song that Zuraitis received a Grammy nomination for in 2019 for Best Arrangement, Instruments, and Vocals. When she took the stage, her joy was palpable. “I grew up dreaming of being here one day. I’m honored to be here.” She said from the stage before a capacity crowd. As a performer, Nicole Zuraitis is that great combination of talent and awareness. Awareness of what’s going on with her band, and what she needs to evoke musically to communicate with her audience. She’s aware of the yin and yang that are the foundation of interpersonal relationships, and how to use music to bring that awareness to listeners. She performed a beautiful set of music on day 2 of the Festival that rivaled some of the best vocal performances featured on the Harbor Stage over the past ten years. She’ll most certainly be back.
After speaking with her and reading about her commitment to understanding and being part of the jazz world, her commitment to writing meaningful music, and her commitment to supporting the growth of the next generation of vocalists, there’s a joy experienced watching her live out her dream that far exceeds that of someone simply watching a talented singer perform at the best festival in the country. The joy in watching Nicole Zuraitis live her dream feels like silver-white winters that melt into springs. It feels like a bright blessed day and a dark sacred night. It feels like the sweetness and the sadness of the girl from Ipanema meeting the bold audaciousness of a woman fed up with injustice in Mississippi. It feels like jazz.
When asked what was next for her, the response was simple: new music. “I have a big band album coming out with my husband Dan, and I’ve already written the music for my next record. We’re just deciding on a [recording] date. Plus, I’m touring like crazy. I’m very, very grateful to be a jazz artist and to be here at Newport.” And here is right where she belongs.
