By Marilyn Lester***More and more Grammy Award-nominated jazz singer Nicole Zuraitis has been widening her presence in the jazz and popular music spheres with original material. Her recent album release on the Dot Time label, All Wandering Hearts, featured mostly her own work, receiving superb reviews in jazz and music press. At her recent gig at Birdland Theater, accompanying herself on piano, she demonstrated pianistic chops along with her proven vocal ability, plus A-plusses in arranging, composition and lyric writing. As to that proven vocal ability, she admits she’s a “recovering opera singer.” It’s not surprising then, that Zuraitis’ range is over four octaves, and her voice disciplined, flexible and clear as a bell. In other words, the entire Zuraitis package is blazingly talented.
Adding pizzazz to the mix was a quartet of top-shelf musicians: Pete McCann on guitar, Sam Dillon on tenor sax, Sam Weber on bass and Dan Pugach on drums. Later on in the set, Israeli double bassist Inbar Paz joined Zuraitis, shining on the finale number, “Not This Time,” a toe-tapping jazz number with bebop overtones.
Versatility is a key word for Zuraitis’ output. She’s accomplished in jazz, but her ventures also tip into blues, pop and country genres. Like her smooth vocal delivery, her compositions have a fluidity to them, a constant drive forward regardless of tempo. Part of this dynamic is that Zuraitis is strong on lyric—a storyteller whose journey is complete from the first note to the the last echo of the song. “Save It for a Rainy Day,” inspired by a comment in conversation with a Broadway stage manager, offered thus a satifsying rhythmic flow. A back-handed compliment gave birth to “Crazy In a Good Way,” a bluesy tune with a clever lyric.
A highlight of the set was Zuraitis’ lyric to the 1941 Billy Strayhorn jazz standard, “Chelsea Bridge.” Like much of Strayhorn, the music is harmonically complex and resistant to being lyricized. The only other attempt was by member Bill Comstock for a recording by The Four Freshman in 1958, although others, such as Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald have 
vocalized to the tune. Brava to Zuraitis for hitting the nail on the head with lyrics that work within a smart arrangement. As a bonus, Dillon’s sax solo was inspirational as was the creative drumming of Puglach. For “Two Fish,” Zuraitis created witty lyrics to a jazzy light swing, derived from an Israeli poem she had translated for her. “Let Me Love You,” in a country-pop mode, was introduced humorously and slyly as a song about cats.
Covers were few, but included a soft, slow samba arrangement of “So Many Stars” (Sergio Mendez/Alan and Marilyn Bergman) at the mic, with a more syncopated approach as she returned to the piano to complete the number. Zuraitis’ repertoire has long-included “What A Wonderful World” (Bob Thiele/George David Weiss) and this she delivered sans band, alone at the piano. The quiet, thoughtful delivery on a dreamy note, gave power to a notion of a world that does transcend the troubles and travails of a pandemic and other contemporary worries.
The effervescent and delightful Zuraitis offered a generous set of music, uplifting to the last note. In this little corner of the Universe, in a small but significant point in time, it was indeed a wonderful world.
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