A Voice for Love

Photo courtesy of BCM

Every once in a while, you pick a CD out of the stack on your desk, sit down to listen, and get transfixed. I know Nicole Zuraitis is a Connecticut native, that she has recorded several albums with her husband, drummer and composer Dan Pugach, is a member of Sonica (with Thana Alexa and bassist Julia Adamy), and has issued four albums as a leader since 2013.  Her fifth album is now out––"How Love Begins" (Outside In Music) began percolating in the vocalist, composer, and pianist's mind when she met bassist Christian McBride in 2018 and he said that "we should do something together".  It took them two a few years to reconnect; when she sent him a large amount of her newer material, he chose the 10 that make up the album. Ms. Zuraitis chose the musicians; besides her husband on drums and McBride on bass, there's Gilad Hekselman (guitar) and Maya Kronfeld (organ,Wurlitzer, Rhodes) with pianist David Cook (three tracks), drummer Billy Kilson (three tracks), and Sonica (one track).  

The program is divided into two parts, "Oil" and "Water", each section having five songs.  In conversation, Ms. Zuraitis said that the first section is really about "how love begins" while the second half is about "how love ends". What one notices on first listen is how strong a voice she has, how articulate she is in all registers, , and how flexible her voice can be.  Pay attention as well to her piano work. Her McCoy Tyner-esque chords beneath the guitar solo on "Reverie" are both powerful and percussive, locking in with the bass and drums (in this instance, Mr. Kilson).  "Travel", a track she composed with fellow vocalist Cyrille Aimée, features lyrics by the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay plus a lyrical guitar solo. It's just voice and guitar on "Let Me Love You", a bluesy plea.  The intimacy and humor of the performance is an aural treat.

The "Water" section opens with "Two Fish"; based on a Hebrew poem written by Dahlia Rabikovich, the open seconds of the tune sound like the intro to Leslie Bricusse's "My Kind of Girl" before heading out on its path. It's really a sweet love song with lovely fills from pianist Cook and bluesy responses from Hekselman.  The love affair begins falling apart on the soulful "Well Planned, Well Played" but the music is buoyed by the gospel organ work of Ms. Kronfeld and Hekselman's bent notes. Mr. McBride takes a short but melodic solo. The love affair is but over on "Like Dew", a slow, sorrowful, ballad in which Ms. Zuraitis's emotional vocal takes center stage but don't disregard her fine piano work.  The program ends with "To The Garden", a Carole King-like melody that is both a vocal treat (delightful overdubbed vocal "responses") and a heartfelt musical experience––if you buy the CD, the "hidden track" is the original "Save It For a Rainy Day" in which the singer realizes that love has totally been eclipsed by a consistent and insistent storm. 

Slowly, steadily, Nicole Zuraitis is making inroads as a singer, pianist, and especially as a composer.  "How Love Begins" is a smashing album, filled with fine songs, excellent musicianship, led by a vocalist whose voice is inviting, intimate, playful, and emotionally real. Give the album several full spins and see how good you'll feel bathed in these sweet sounds.

For more information, go to www.nicolezmusic.com/.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to  https://outsideinmusic.bandcamp.com/album/how-love-begins. 

Here's "Let Me Love You":