Biography
During the second half of the 1990s, pianist and keyboardist Rachel Z rose to prominence as a leading female voice in mainstream contemporary jazz. Although her fusion and jazz-pop work sometimes drew mixed critical responses, her drive extended well beyond mere commercial reach. As she gained independence as a solo performer, she grew increasingly focused on highlighting and working alongside other women in jazz.
Born Rachel Nicolazzo in Manhattan to an opera-singer mother, she began vocal training at age two and added classical piano studies at seven. At fifteen she joined a Steely Dan cover band, then first encountered jazz through Miles Davis’ Miles Smiles during a Berklee School of Music summer program in Boston. Back in Manhattan she assembled her own quintet, Nardis, later earning a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music under Joanne Brackeen while performing locally with George Garzone, Miroslav Vitous, and Bob Moses. She moved to Manhattan again in 1988, first touring with fellow Conservatory alumnus Najee before joining the fusion ensemble Steps Ahead. Drawn to the style because it offered steady employment, Nicolazzo also worked during this period with Al DiMeola on Kiss My Axe, Larry Coryell, Special EFX, and Angela Bofill, and joined Najee on the 1990 smooth-jazz bestseller Tokyo Blue, co-writing the title track and appearing on its tour. Steps Ahead leader and vibraphonist Mike Mainieri proposed she shorten her professional name to Rachel Z for simpler spelling.
In 1993, a year after appearing on Steps Ahead’s Yin-Yang, Mainieri produced her Columbia debut as a leader, Trust the Universe. The recording reflected the influence of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea and yielded the smooth-jazz radio success “Nardis.” Beginning in 1994 she contributed extensively to Wayne Shorter’s Verve comeback album High Life, orchestrating most of the material on synthesizer while adding her own piano and synth parts. Issued in 1995, the project achieved both commercial success and broad critical approval, earning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. After serving as musical director for the accompanying tour, Z departed Steps Ahead and signed with Mainieri’s NYC label. Her first release there, A Room of One’s Own, comprised original pieces honoring female artists across disciplines who had inspired her. The supporting ensemble, anchored by her regular trio of bassist Tracy Wormworth and drummer Cindy Blackman, leaned heavily toward women. Released in 1996, the album’s accessible acoustic jazz received generally favorable notices.
Z next moved to GRP for the hip-hop-inflected smooth-jazz set Love Is the Power, shaped by her recent divorce and issued in 1998. The following year she joined the fusion supergroup Vertú alongside former Return to Forever members Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, then returned to acoustic jazz on her Tone Center album On the Milkyway Express: A Tribute to the Music of Wayne Shorter. The recording introduced her new trio featuring bassist Miriam Sullivan and drummer Allison Miller, with whom she had already performed for several years and who became her primary group. She and Sullivan also formed the rock-leaning band Peacebox.
Although her solo trajectory was thriving, an offer from Peter Gabriel to join his twenty-city U.S. tour in 2002 proved impossible to decline. The commitment overlapped with the release of her own album Moon at the Window, a collection of Joni Mitchell covers and reinterpretations that held deep personal meaning; the Gabriel opportunity was among the rare reasons she chose not to tour in support of her record.
Born Rachel Nicolazzo in Manhattan to an opera-singer mother, she began vocal training at age two and added classical piano studies at seven. At fifteen she joined a Steely Dan cover band, then first encountered jazz through Miles Davis’ Miles Smiles during a Berklee School of Music summer program in Boston. Back in Manhattan she assembled her own quintet, Nardis, later earning a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music under Joanne Brackeen while performing locally with George Garzone, Miroslav Vitous, and Bob Moses. She moved to Manhattan again in 1988, first touring with fellow Conservatory alumnus Najee before joining the fusion ensemble Steps Ahead. Drawn to the style because it offered steady employment, Nicolazzo also worked during this period with Al DiMeola on Kiss My Axe, Larry Coryell, Special EFX, and Angela Bofill, and joined Najee on the 1990 smooth-jazz bestseller Tokyo Blue, co-writing the title track and appearing on its tour. Steps Ahead leader and vibraphonist Mike Mainieri proposed she shorten her professional name to Rachel Z for simpler spelling.
In 1993, a year after appearing on Steps Ahead’s Yin-Yang, Mainieri produced her Columbia debut as a leader, Trust the Universe. The recording reflected the influence of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea and yielded the smooth-jazz radio success “Nardis.” Beginning in 1994 she contributed extensively to Wayne Shorter’s Verve comeback album High Life, orchestrating most of the material on synthesizer while adding her own piano and synth parts. Issued in 1995, the project achieved both commercial success and broad critical approval, earning a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. After serving as musical director for the accompanying tour, Z departed Steps Ahead and signed with Mainieri’s NYC label. Her first release there, A Room of One’s Own, comprised original pieces honoring female artists across disciplines who had inspired her. The supporting ensemble, anchored by her regular trio of bassist Tracy Wormworth and drummer Cindy Blackman, leaned heavily toward women. Released in 1996, the album’s accessible acoustic jazz received generally favorable notices.
Z next moved to GRP for the hip-hop-inflected smooth-jazz set Love Is the Power, shaped by her recent divorce and issued in 1998. The following year she joined the fusion supergroup Vertú alongside former Return to Forever members Stanley Clarke and Lenny White, then returned to acoustic jazz on her Tone Center album On the Milkyway Express: A Tribute to the Music of Wayne Shorter. The recording introduced her new trio featuring bassist Miriam Sullivan and drummer Allison Miller, with whom she had already performed for several years and who became her primary group. She and Sullivan also formed the rock-leaning band Peacebox.
Although her solo trajectory was thriving, an offer from Peter Gabriel to join his twenty-city U.S. tour in 2002 proved impossible to decline. The commitment overlapped with the release of her own album Moon at the Window, a collection of Joni Mitchell covers and reinterpretations that held deep personal meaning; the Gabriel opportunity was among the rare reasons she chose not to tour in support of her record.
Albums
