Nicole Zuraitis
Grammy-Winning Jazz Vocalist, Pianist & Composer

Suraaj Parab

Today's guest is Nicole Zuraitis, a two-time Grammy winner, six-time Grammy-nominated jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and producer whose work blends virtuosic musicianship and deeply personal songwriting. Welcome, Nicole, to The Artist Conversation. It's great to have you here.

Nicole Zuraitis

Great to be here. My pleasure. You're such a sweetheart! Okay.

Suraaj Parab

Thank you so much, Nicole. So jumping right into it: talking about your origins, Nicole, you have built a career as a singer, pianist, songwriter, arranger, and producer, all at a very high level. When did you first realize your voice as an artist was never going to fit into just one role?

Nicole Zuraitis

That was my Achilles' heel, to be honest. I felt like I was a jack of all trades, master of none for many, many years. I didn't really know what I was supposed to be doing, so I just kept trying all different avenues without ever thinking to myself, "This is my career." I just wanted to try different parts of the music business, and a lot of it came just from being curious.

Other things, such as producing—I only realized that I'm a producer after I made 12 albums, you know? But by the nature of me doing it for myself and for my family, now I'm starting to do it for other artists too. So just being curious and not being afraid to fail really helped me expand my resume.

Suraaj Parab

Wow, that's wonderful. So during your childhood, what actually drew you to music—like piano, guitar, or something else?

Nicole Zuraitis

I mean, I was drawn to singing first. Singers and the human voice first—that's my number one choice. I love that the voice feels like a vessel to something greater. It's almost like channeling from a greater power.

And then the piano—I was fortunate that there was a piano in my house growing up. On my mom's side of the family, some of them played the piano, some played accordion—all the Italians. So I think there was a little bit of a genetic pull to the piano. But I never studied piano officially because I was too stubborn, which is why I am a self-taught piano player now. But I'm a highly trained vocalist—proudly highly trained in classical technique and vocal pedagogy. It's really good for keeping your voice super healthy.

Suraaj Parab

Going from being a properly trained classical vocalist to taking a self-taught path for piano... for me as well, when I learned piano, I am a self-taught pianist myself. Everyone has this unique side to art; self-teaching gives you the freedom to think anything. If you feel like playing it like a trumpet, you can play it—there's no one telling you that you can't do it.

Nicole Zuraitis

I know! I do wish that I played the guitar sometimes, though, because I hear my pop lines and rhythm—I love rhythm guitar. But here we are, I'm playing the piano.

Suraaj Parab

Are you up-to-date with bar chords?

Nicole Zuraitis

I don't think so. I think my hands are too weak!

Suraaj Parab

That's nice. Moving on, Nicole...

Nicole Zuraitis

We're actually currently on tour, so my husband, Dan Pugach, just walked in because we're in Denver, Colorado.

Suraaj Parab

Wow! It must be very cold over there right now in Denver.

Nicole Zuraitis

No, actually, it's super hot! It's super, super hot, yeah, because it's summertime.

Suraaj Parab

Okay, that's nice. You know, Nicole, you often talk about the "modern songbook." What does that phrase mean to you personally, and what do you feel it allows you to say that a more traditional jazz framework might not?

Nicole Zuraitis

Well, I started the Modern Songbook Society and coined the name "Modern Songbook" because I was sick of people turning their noses up at jazz singer-songwriters. I was very surprised when I won the Grammy that it was the first time anyone ever wrote and arranged all the songs for a jazz vocal album. I was thinking, "Why don't we write music and sing each other's music in jazz?"

We write music for ourselves, and we have the Great American Songbook, but then that canon stopped, and it became an "all for one," very individual approach. I wanted to start the Modern Songbook Society to bring together living jazz singer-songwriters and jazz singers so that we can connect, sing each other's music, support each other, get better at the craft of writing music, and ask the jazz community not to shy away from a memorable melody.

Suraaj Parab

Yeah, that's really wonderful. Talking about this songwriting process, How Love Begins was an extraordinary milestone for you—not just winning Best Jazz Vocal Album, but doing it with an album you wrote and arranged entirely by yourself. What did that level of ownership mean to you creatively?

Nicole Zuraitis

Yeah, it was a huge, huge honor. It was big for my low self-esteem! It was big for me because I don't know very many songwriters who write music and then think, "This is great." That's not how that works; I still listen to that album and think, "Oof, I would change so many things."

Being a woman in jazz, it was so huge that a woman co-produced, wrote, and arranged the music. My husband is an incredible arranger, Dan Pugach—he arranges horns, strings, you name it—but I arranged the songs at the heart of the album. A lot of people would ask, "Did your husband do that?" or "Did Christian McBride do that?" I'm like, "No, I did that."

So it was a huge moment, I think, for women in jazz and especially independent artists to look up and say, "Hey, that girl kind of just crashed through the ceiling accidentally, but also with a lot of intent and hope." I was really hopeful, and I was so honored that the Recording Academy put their faith in me. It was really an honor.

Suraaj Parab

Of course, I haven't won a Grammy, but I remember in 2021 when I got the email that I was accepted as a Grammy voting member, I was like, "Oh my god!" I am very thankful because, through the Recording Academy, I met you and many of our friends like Mark Marcel, Carla Patullo, and Tara Wyer. They have become very good friends, and now I can say I have a new friend, Nicole Zuraitis! It's a wonderful place and work they are doing, connecting so many different souls from different parts of the world.

Nicole Zuraitis

Exactly! And then I'm going to see you in Mumbai when I'm there in November, which is so cool.

Suraaj Parab

Yeah! I would love to do something with you in the future—maybe work on something or perform. I play bass and piano.

Nicole Zuraitis

I love it! Well, then we're going to have to fight over the piano chair. I'm just kidding!

Suraaj Parab

No, I will happily sit on the bass! Getting back to the topic: a lot of great jazz vocalists interpret material beautifully, but your work places such a strong emphasis on original songwriting. What keeps drawing you back to writing your own emotional and harmonic worlds?

Nicole Zuraitis

The root of jazz to me is innovation. I was so drawn to jazz because when I was singing classical music, it was "sing it as written—do not stray from the writing." What I loved about jazz is that they say, "Learn the melody, but then change it. Use your imagination. Improvise. Scat syllables. Reharmonize. Change the meter."

I arranged a bunch of standards, and then I was thinking, "Okay, now what?" There's a huge canon of music to learn in the Great American Songbook, but I just started to write. I think writers are so important to jazz because we are the ones pushing forward, innovating, and keeping it current. That's why I use the word "modern songbook"—because we're doing it in real-time while also understanding and learning the language and tradition of jazz.

Suraaj Parab

Understood. When I was listening to your music, it felt very sophisticated, but never emotionally distant. Sometimes jazz can get a little technical, but your music never felt like that. How do you balance this advanced musical language with an honesty that still reaches people immediately?

Nicole Zuraitis

That is the best compliment I could get. Thank you! It's truly a huge compliment because I try so hard for the music to be intuitive. When you're young and learning jazz, you're trying to be hip and cool, writing music that is difficult just to show off what you know. But eventually, with any type of technique, you no longer think about the technique—you think about the story or the emotion, and the technique just happens.

That's how I feel about songwriting at this point. I'm not thinking, "How hard can I make this?" I'm thinking, "Where does it want to go? What's logical?" Then all the language and technicality I studied when I was younger comes out naturally because it's part of my DNA. With the Modern Songbook Society, I want people to stop writing vocal jazz music from an intellectual or technical perspective and write it from an emotional, intuitive perspective instead. They will naturally come together as one, and I think that'll bring even more people back to jazz. Jazz is certainly not dead.

Suraaj Parab

Yeah, of course. As you said, jazz is innovation—that's why jazz was born, from the blues. It's really interesting looking at your perspective on this genre and the way it's shaping you as a musician.

Nicole Zuraitis

I don't know what your experience is as a musician growing up in India, but as a woman growing up as a jazz artist, there was not a lot of acceptance for going against the norm. There wasn't a lot of acceptance for even being a singer in general, and definitely not for someone writing music, singing, and playing the piano who wasn't at the level of Chick Corea. It just felt like I've been fighting against the grain the whole time, so why not just continue?

Suraaj Parab

The only line I can say for this is: "The crows are black all over the world." So it's the same in India! I am more into neoclassical music—Yanni was my idol growing up—so that's the kind of music I create. But in India, 99% of the people listen to Bollywood and nothing else. So I am fighting with the whole country by sitting here creating my own thing!

The artist you remind me of is Al Jarreau. When I first heard him doing vocal solos, I realized what a jazz artist could do. I find that same spark in you—going against the norm and creating something of your own. Don't ever stop. You will always have one guy from Mumbai supporting you!

Nicole Zuraitis

Thank you! I love it.

Suraaj Parab

Moving on to live performance: you have performed everywhere from Birdland and the Blue Note to Newport and Melbourne, and your album Live at Vic's Las Vegas picked up two Grammy nominations. What does the live setting unlock in you that the studio doesn't?

Nicole Zuraitis

I drink a lot more tequila on the live record! No, but seriously, the audience—that's the huge difference. It's the energy of the audience. When there's an audience there, all the musicians are more likely to take a risk to try to get to the next level. In the studio, you're playing it safe because you know it's being recorded forever. On a live record, you kind of forget that you're being recorded, and you take chances.

Just like How Love Begins, when I listen to Live at Vic's, I hear a whole lot of shots and misses—all of us were really going for it! But that's the thing about live music: you go for it, you miss, but then you keep going. There's something really powerful in that. It's really courageous to release a live record. In retrospect, I didn't think it would get nominated for a Grammy, but the band was amazing and we had a great time.

Suraaj Parab

Releasing a live record is definitely a courageous move. Did you face any unique challenges while recording in a live setting compared to a studio album?

Nicole Zuraitis

We had constant challenges with the live record! First, the engineer didn't bring a setup on the first day due to a miscommunication between one of the other producers and me. We got to the first day of the recording session, and the engineer had only brought one microphone! The house engineer then had to figure out how to mic all seven of us before the downbeat at 5:00 PM. Because nothing was set up, we didn't get to rehearse, so my band and the three guest additions didn't get to practice anything.

The first day was a total wash—the computer froze, and everything went down the toilet. On day two, that young engineer, Matty Moska, really stepped up as the MVP. He went from being the house sound guy to engineering the whole album and spending all night figuring out how to mic Keon's trumpet. Meanwhile, our bass player, Sam, was struggling because the house bass kept breaking mid-song. But the house bass had belonged to the deceased son of the venue owners, so we were trying to be respectful of the instrument even while it was failing. It was total chaos!

Tom Scott even tried to bring his EWI, and I had to tell living legend Tom Scott, "Don't you dare—no electronic instruments in an already chaotic experience!" But hey, it makes for a great story.

Suraaj Parab

You have collaborated with so many major artists like Tom Scott, Christian McBride, Antonio Sanchez, and Nick Fine. What have these collaborations taught you about trust and listening at the highest level?

Nicole Zuraitis

My newest album coming out July 17th is called The Devil I Knew, and it was produced by Larry Klein—a six-time Grammy winner who has produced Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, and Melody Gardot. He taught me that the collaborations he's had his entire life are like his family.

By working with him, I got horn arrangements by Jerry Hay—the most famous horn arranger alive, who did Michael Jackson's Thriller and Earth, Wind & Fire. Larry also brought in Vince Mendoza and Larry Goldings.

What I learned is that you build a network of family through your work. Working with Larry expanded my web of friends. At the end of the day, these legends are all just working musicians taking gigs. Their friends become my friends, and hopefully 20 years from now, artists will say, "Nicole Zuraitis produced my record, and these people are part of her musical family." It's really all about the web of friendships you create.

Suraaj Parab

An extended family—that's amazing. Talking about your upcoming concept album, The Devil I Knew, that's a striking title coming from a jazz singer-songwriter. What emotional or artistic terrain are you exploring in this project?

Nicole Zuraitis

The crux of the record is realizing that you can be the villain in your own story, and that you have autonomy over your choices. Eventually, instead of holding onto a grudge and pretending it's someone else's fault, you have to let it go and take responsibility.

It's a deep concept. I incorporated poetry written by women from over 100 years ago to thread intergenerational female voices into the story. People love to see themselves through a victim lens ("the breakup album") or a hero lens ("I powered through"), but not often do they look in the mirror and say, "I was the one who caused the hurt; I'm the bad guy."

Suraaj Parab

That reminds me of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He noted that a hero needs a thousand allies to fight, whereas a villain relies entirely on themselves and takes full ownership of their path.

Nicole Zuraitis

Did I make an accidental Star Wars or Nietzsche analogy? I love that! Christian McBride introduced me at the Newport Jazz Festival by saying, "Nicole Zuraitis is the living embodiment of the James Brown song: I don't need nobody to give me nothing; open the door, I'll get it myself." So that Nietzsche info checks out!

Suraaj Parab

When crafting a concept album like this, do you think first in terms of individual songs, narrative arcs, or emotional chapters?

Nicole Zuraitis

I always write the songs first. Writing a lot of material gives me an advantage when handing things over to collaborators or producers. We select the tracks that sound great sonically together, and since they come from my personal experience, they naturally share a thematic connection.

The most fun part for me is filling in the gaps and crafting the overarching thread. I love narrative arcs in albums—like Beyoncé's Lemonade, which felt like listening to a movie. I started calling it "jazz-lore" instead of folklore, where we create these almost mythological moments.

People think an album titled The Devil I Knew must be dark and depressing, but if you don't acknowledge your dark side, you're lying! Plus, at my live shows, we joke about the pain—that's where the best comedy comes from anyway.

Suraaj Parab

Can I say that I am coming to see The Devil I Knew in November?

Nicole Zuraitis

Yeah! What if the devil I knew was you?

Suraaj Parab

I would love that because I actually like the villains in stories more than the heroes, so I'll take that as a compliment!

As an educator whose career reflects both mastery and generosity, what do you hope younger artists understand most about building a life in music?

Nicole Zuraitis

That there are all sorts of levels of success, and when you are learning music, you shouldn't just be thinking about what you're going to do with it later. You have to learn the craft to the best of your ability.

Young students today often look at social media, learn 30 seconds of a song, post it, and if it doesn't go viral, they want to quit forever. That's very sad. Thinking of music strictly from a career or numbers standpoint is detrimental. Learn the craft and have fun.

You don't have to win an award or do it full-time to be a successful musician. Success is also the person who educates, the person who plays on Friday nights with their friends, or the person writing songs purely because it's inside them.

Suraaj Parab

My heart is full right now. Thank you so much, Nicole, for spending this time with me. I really appreciate the depth, musicianship, and emotional clarity you bring to your work.

Nicole Zuraitis

It's my pleasure! I look forward to hearing more of your music, Suraaj, and seeing you in Mumbai.

Suraaj Parab

Thank you, Nicole! This conversation is a great reminder that true artistry isn't just about technique—it's about honesty, imagination, and the courage to write your own songbook.

To everyone listening, thank you for being here. Please check out Nicole's work on Apple Music, Spotify, and all major streaming platforms, and follow her on Instagram @NicoleZmusic. If this episode resonated with you, please share it, and we will see you in the next episode of The Artist Conversation.