2x GRAMMY nominee Nicole Zuraitis is riding a wave of acclaim with the release of her sixth album How Love Begins, co-produced by bass luminary Christian McBride. Written and arranged entirely by Zuraitis, Downbeat magazine highlighted Zuraitis’ superb songcraft calling the album of ten self-penned songs “Impressive!” and added the collection to their Best of 2023 list, crowning a year of achievement for the Connecticut and New York based independent artist, including a GRAMMY nomination in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. How Love Begins is streaming now everywhere, including Amazon, Apple and Spotify’s Best of 2023 editorial playlists.
How Love Begins was conceived between Nicole Zuraitis and Christian McBride in 2021 after several years of dreaming about collaborating. The musical partners first crossed paths at the Red Eye Grill in New York City where Nicole had a longstanding residency, just a few months after she placed in the International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition. Following many years of mutual admiration, the two artists finally came together.
“A stunning singer with an equally adept pen” – New York City Jazz Record
“A total lack of pretense and always a welcoming air of benevolence…A once in a lifetime voice…Zuraitis is special…equal times provocative, hilarious, sexy, sassy…the result is electric.” – Broadway World
Nicole has a well-earned reputation as a producer and band leader and proceeded to assemble a top flight ensemble to bring her vision to life for the two part album. In addition to McBride on bass and Zuraitis on piano, they are joined by Gilad Hekselman (guitar), Maya Kronfeld (organ, wurlitzer, rhodes), Dan Pugach (drums), and special guests David Cook (piano) Billy Kilson (drums) and vocal duo Sonica adding backing vocals.
On How Love Begins, the musical themes were inspired by the work of Spanish conservation photographer Daniel Beltrá who’s oddly beautiful images of oil in the Gulf of Mexico after the devastating Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill led Zuraitis to conclude “Just like a love that ends too soon, the common thread is that some of the most beautiful things in life can also be the most heartbreaking.” This duality led to her to pen the album in two parts Part I: Oil (How Love Begins) and Part II: Water (…and How Love Ends). It’s a universal story of romance initially blessed with harmony yet eventually plagued with discord. “Perhaps this album should have been called “How Love Begins… and Ends,” shares Zuraitis displaying her wry sense of humor.
Like many yearning to escape the confines of a city on lock-down, Zuraitis relocated during the pandemic from Brooklyn to her native Connecticut where she found the Long Island Sound in her backyard. Inspired both by its beauty and the lack of concern for its care, the always active Zuraitis launched a non-profit Save The Sound, debuting the album during a self-produced music festival and day of activism the weekend of the album release. Save the Sound was recently awarded $250,000 from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the final phase of the removal of Dana Dam which since the 1940’s had altered the natural floodplain and impacted the reproduction of fish and wildlife. Portions of album proceeds will benefit Savethesound.org.
Catch Nicole Zuraitis LIVE!
- Jan 6 – Nicole Zuraitis Quartet – Birdland (New York, NY)
- Jan 13 – Nicole Zuraitis Quartet – Birdland (New York, NY)
- Jan 14- APAP showcase – Chelsea Table and Stage (New York, NY)
- Jan 20 – Nicole Zuraitis Quartet – Birdland (New York, NY)
- Jan 27 – Nicole Zuraitis Duo – Birdland (New York, NY)
For more tour dates visit www.nicolezmusic.com
