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Rachel Carmel Nicolazzo (born December 28 1962), better known as Rachel Z, is a jazz pianist.
Rachel Z was born in Manhattan and raised into a musical family. With an opera singing mother, Z began voice lessons at the mere age of two, and took piano lessons when she was seven. In her mid-teens, Rachel discovered Miles Davis' Miles Smiles, whose improvisational works diverted her from her classical roots.
Z's pianistic talent enabled her to attend the Berklee College of Music Summer School and Manhattan School of Music Pre-College, where she launched the quintet, Nardis, whilst studying with Joanne Brackeen and Richie Beirachin NYC. Later Rachel Z graduated from the prestigious New England Conservatory with a 'Distinction in Performance' award in . Meanwhile she was playing professionally in and around Boston in a small group that included George Garzone.
In 1988, Rachel returned to New York and co-wrote Tokyo Blue with schoolmate turned pro-saxophonist Najee and then played mostly keyboards with classic fusion band Steps Ahead where leader Mike Mainieri suggested she altered her name as to be easier to pronounce.
Z remained with Steps Ahead until 1996, however she collaborated with a number of different artists during this time, establishing her name within the jazz scene. In 1995 she worked with one of her greatest influences, Wayne Shorter, on his album High Life, which won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. She was responsible for the CD's synthesized orchestral settings, acoustic piano solos and several concurrent world tours.While signed to Columbia by Dr.George Butler,she released an influential CD "Trust the Universe" which was unique in featuring a jazz A side with Charnette Moffett and Al Foster and an electric jazz B side with Lenny White and Victor Bailey.Her next solo CD ,"Room of One's Own-a tribute to Women Artists"featured arrangements by Maria Schneider and Alvaro Cordero.This CD was produced by Mike Mainieri who was an important empresario and mentor for Rachel. "Room" won 4 stars in Downbeat and extensive critical acclaim for the original compositions and wind ensemble arrangements. This work was a defining creative moment for Z as it was a culmination of influences of her classical background and her work with Wayne Shorter.
In 1999 Z was a part of a jazz fusion project by Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. The effort, simply called Vertu, featured such artists as Karen Briggs on violin, Richie Kotzen on guitar. The album received very positive reviews. (Clarke and White played together with Chick Corea in Return to forever).
Rachel Z has always been working simultaneously as an apprentice and as the leader of her own group. Her albums are often meaningful being impressions of the biggest events and influences on her life. She dedicated A Room of One’s Own to the many women artists who have played a significant role in her life. Her characterical musical intelligence and development of her genre has made her one of the most exciting female jazz musicians of the twenty-first century.
More recently she has blossomed into a fulltime band leader.In 2002 having formed the definitive trio with Bobbie Rae created a tribute to Joni Mitchell called Moon at the Window. This trio group continues to record New Standards and formulate complex arrangements of pop and jazz tunes and has 5 CDs released to date.
Intermittently, Rachel Z experimented with her own rock group Peacebox as a vocalist and Bobbie Rae as the producer. During this time she was also working with the Italian legend Pino Danielewho she first began working with in 1996. She later toured with Peter Gabriel during his Growing Up tours from 2002 to 2006, which gave Rachel the opportunity to widen her fanbase and work with renowned bassist Tony Levin. Her recent project, titled Dept of Good and Evil, features drummer and husband Bobby Rae and bassist Maeve Royce. This trios' mission is unity and it's ideas for transforming modern pop songs into jazz masterpieces using the jazz tradition as a benchmark for innovative and imaginative arrangements have thrust this group into the forefront of modern jazz.
Discography
- Yin Yang"Steps Ahead(NYC,1990)
- Trust The Universe (Columbia, 1993)
- Room Of One's Own (NYC, 1996)
- Love Is The Power (GRP Records, 1998)
- Vertu (project with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White) (Sony Music, 1999)
- On The Milkyway Express: A Tribute to Wayne Shorter (Tone Center, 2000)
- Moon At The Window: Jazz Impressions Of Joni Mitchell (Tone Centre, 2002)
- First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Venus, 2003)
- Everlasting (Tone Centre, 2004)
- Grace (Chesky, 2005)
- Highlife"(Wayne Shorter) 1996
- Growing Up Live DVD"(Realworld)Peter Gabriel 2004
- Greatest Hits(Realworld) Peter Gabriel 2005
- More Growing Up Live" Peter Gabriel 2006
- Mortal(Artistshare)2006
- Dept of Good and Evil(Savoy Jazz/WEA) 2007
References
- Parkin, Sarah. "Z, Rachel". ENotes.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13.