Holiday Up Nicole Zuraitis

• 1 My Favorite Things 04:46
• 2 Paw-fect Christmas 04:06
• 3 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 04:14
• 4 Holiday Up 02:55
• 5 Silent Night 03:18
• 6 It's The Thought That Counts 03:54
• Total Runtime 23:13

Info for Holiday Up

With a heart as big as her remarkable voice Nicole is a trailblazing artist who is redefining vocal jazz, earning her a place as one of the top artists and prolific songwriters to watch in jazz and beyond.

As a recording artist, Nicole has released five albums as leader, and her sixth album How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride, features all original music and was awarded the 2024 GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Nicole is the only artist ever to have won this award who wrote and arranged the entire album herself. Nicole's arrangement of Dolly Parton's Jolene, co-written with renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY®, springboarding her career and making her a household name in the modern-day jazz landscape.

Nicole Zuraitis, vocals, piano
Sean Harkness, guitar

Nicole Zuraitis
is a GRAMMY® winning and 4X GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer-songwriter (nominated in 4 distinct categories: Best Jazz Vocal Album, Best Large Jazz Ensemble, Best Jazz Performance and Best Arrangement), pianist and arranger, New York-based bandleader and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. With a “heart as big as her remarkable voice,” (Jazz Police), Nicole has positioned herself as one of the top artists and "prolific songwriters" (Broadway World) to watch in jazz and beyond.

As a recording artist, Nicole has released five albums as leader, and her sixth album, How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride, won BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM at the 2024 GRAMMY® awards and features all original music. She is the only person ever to have won this award who wrote and arranged the entire album herself.

In addition to leading her quartet, Nicole performed and recorded with the Birdland Big Band as premier vocalist before taking off as a large ensemble leader of her own, co-producing the Dan Pugach Big Band and guesting for major European big bands. She has headlined at Newport Jazz Festival, along with iconic NYC jazz clubs like Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Birdland, the Blue Note, the Carlyle, 54 Below and the late, great 55 Bar. She has appeared as a featured soloist with the Savannah Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, and Macon Pops, and has supported iconic singers like Melanie, Morgan James, Darren Criss, and Livingston Taylor on piano and vocals.

Nicole is a featured artist and producer on her husband’s, renowned drummer, bandleader, and composer Dan Pugach, 2025 GRAMMY-nominated album, Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence (Best Large Ensemble) for which they composed the GRAMMY-nominated song, “Little Fears” (Best Jazz Performance). Nicole's arrangement of Dolly Parton's Jolene, co-written with Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY®, springboarding her career and making her a household name in the modern-day jazz landscape. In 2020, she was named in the top 40 under 40 for 2020 in Connecticut Magazine, and her weekly live stream during the Covid-19 crisis, "Virtual Piano Lounge," was featured in Forbes Magazine.

Nicole has collaborated with an extensive list of luminaries, including Christian McBride, David Cook, Gilad Hekselman, Veronica Swift, Benny Benack, Stephen Feifke, Cyrille Aimee, Antonio Sanchez, Javon Jackson, Nikki Giovanni, Dave Stryker, Omar Hakim, Rachel Z, Helen Sung, and Bernard Purdie. She is a proud educator and a current vocal faculty member at NYU, SUNY Purchase and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. In 2024, Post University awarded Nicole an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.

An ardent activist with a decade-long track record of giving back, her release of How Love Begins coincided with a self-produced music festival and day of activism for Save the Sound.Org.

This album contains no booklet.