Nicole Zuraitis | Cecil I. Walker Jazz Series
Nicole Zuraitis is a two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning and six-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, producer, and New York-based bandleader. A trailblazer in vocal jazz and jazz songwriting, she coined the term “modern songbook” to describe her approach to original music, blending jazz, singer-songwriter, folk, and contemporary vocal traditions. She is the founder of the Modern Songbook Society, dedicated to championing living singer-songwriters and expanding the contemporary jazz repertoire and original songwriting.
Zuraitis has released seven albums as a leader and more than 80 original songs. Her album How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY® Award winner Christian McBride, won the 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. She is the only artist to have won the award with an album she entirely wrote and arranged herself. Her songwriting has earned multiple GRAMMY® nominations, including for “Little Fears,” co-written with her husband, drummer and composer Dan Pugach. She also wrote “Always” for Teyana Taylor’s 2025 GRAMMY® Award-nominated album Escape Room.
Her live album Live at Vic’s Las Vegas, which she produced, wrote, and arranged, was nominated for two GRAMMY® Awards in 2026. Her newest album, The Devil I Knew, produced by Larry Klein, was released July 17, 2026, and continues her exploration of original songwriting.
Zuraitis has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Tanglewood, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s, Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, and the Blue Note, and has collaborated with artists including Christian McBride, Tom Scott, Jerry Hey, Keyon Harrold, Jerry Hey, Vince Mendoza, and Dan Pugach. She is the winner of the American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal, serves on the vocal faculty at NYU, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Post University. Her work expands possibilities in contemporary jazz, songwriting, and storytelling through humor, authenticity and powerhouse vocals.
The Cecil I. Walker Jazz Series is supported by the Cecil I. Walker Charitable Trust.
The Clay Center’s performing and visual arts offerings are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.