Event
Rachel Z- Refined and Alluring with Infinite Swing
âShe can play with the best of them.â -- Jim Harrington, San Jose Mercury News
Pianist Rachel Z has long been in the vanguard of artists exploring the crossroads between jazz and pop and making lively, compelling music in the process. Case in point: sheâs toured with both Peter Gabriel and Wayne Shorter.
Her 2002 release, Moon at the Window, was a wonderful affair featuring high spirited jazz renditions of Joni Mitchell songs. Her 2004 CD, Everlasting, offered up engaging covers of tunes by the Beatles, Nirvana, Seal and Steely Dan.
As prominent jazz writer Bill Milkowski said in his liner notes for Everlasting, âRachel . . . [wraps] her penchant for sophisticated reharmonization and her infinite capacity to swing into the fabric of familiar fare that resonates with deeper meaning . . . . And she does so organically, genuinely, and honestly, bringing her refined, alluring touch and playful sense of melodicism to bear on popular songs of the day.â
In her latest project, Dept. of Good and Evil, Rachel Z goes a step further, finding new and stunning dimensions in compositions by contemporary bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Joy Division, while providing straight-ahead jazz delights on tunes by Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter.
Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News called Dept. of Good and Evil âOne of the most interesting jazz releases to cross my desk in a long time.â Mike Joyce of the Washington Post said, âHer improvisations are often so harmonically rich and multifaceted that Dept. of Good and Intriguing ultimately seems like a more apt billing.â
Rachel will appear for three great nights at Jazz at Pearl's with drummer Bobbie Rae and bassist Maeve Royce, the same rhythm section that appears on Dept. of Good and Evil and that has been knocking out critics in performances across the country.
"Rachel exhibits a variety of influence - Bill Evans's sense of spacing, Chick Corea-like lines, and McCoy Tyneresque block chords." - James Logan, Bone Magazine
The Manhattan born and raised Rachel Z (Rachel Nicolazzo) had music practically ingrained in her genetic code; groomed to follow in her motherâs operatic footsteps, she began voice lessons at two, started classical piano lessons at seven and attended the opera by age nine. âMy first dollhouse was a Metropolitan Opera House complete with the stage and dolls which were the performers,â she recalls. âThen I heard Miles Smiles when I was fifteen, started rebelling against the classical by improvising, and played with a band which covered Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan songs.â
Listening to Herbie Hancockâs harmonies over Wayne Shorterâs compositions helped her bridge the gap from her classical training to jazz. After launching a quintet called Nardis, she studied with Joanne Brackeen and Richie Beirach and began hanging out at the Vanguard where she saw masters like Dexter Gordon and Bill Evans. Z graduated from New England Conservatory with a
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LocationJazz at Pearl's
256 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
United States
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| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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