With her dusky voice and swinging bass style, Nicki Parrott is one of Australia's most celebrated performers, recognized for her stylishly romantic approach to jazz and standards. She first gained widespread attention after moving to New York City in 1994, where she became the bassist for legendary guitarist Les Paul's combo at the Iridium. She made her solo debut with 2007's Moon River, the first of a string of acclaimed vocal jazz albums, including 2010's Black Coffee and 2015's Sentimental Journey. She has also recorded with artists like Rossano Sportiello, Ken Peplowski, and Chuck Redd, and explored the work of her influences, releasing tribute albums to Blossom Dearie, Carpenters, and Ella Fitzgerald. While American Popular Standards are at the core of her sound, Parrott has continued to interpret songs from throughout the decades, as on 2021's If You Could Read My Mind and 2024's Feelin' Groovy. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in 1970, Parrott had a precocious talent for music, first learning to play the piano when she was four years old. She would become proficient on piano and flute, but when her sister Lisa, who plays saxophone, was looking for a bassist for her jazz combo, Nicki took up the double bass, and fell in love with the instrument. At the age of 16, Parrott earned a scholarship to attend the Pan Pacific Music Camps, and after completing high school, she relocated to Sydney to enroll at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. Soon, she was performing with a number of leading Australian jazz musicians (including Mike Nock, Paul Grabowski, and Dale Barlow), as well as American artists Chuck Findley and Bobby Shew. In 1994, Parrott left Australia for New York City thanks to an Arts Council grant, and she began studying bass with Rufus Reid. In 2000, Parrott landed an especially prestigious gig -- she became bassist with Les Paul's combo for the legendary guitarist's weekly performances at the Manhattan jazz spot Iridium. Paul became her mentor, and encouraged her as a vocalist as well as a bassist. In 2001, Nicki made her recording debut with Awabakal Suite, a collaborate effort with her sister Lisa; the album featured an original composition, "Come and Get It," which in 1992 took first prize in the Jazz Action Society's Annual Song Competition. Nicki also performed in a number of Broadway musicals, including Avenue Q, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Jekyll & Hyde. In 2007 she released an album with pianist Rossano Sportiello, People Will Say We're in Love, in which they essayed a number of jazz pieces and vintage pop standards. Nicki's first solo effort, 2007's Moon River, was the first of a series of albums in which she performed a handful of favorite standards with graceful jazz arrangements and her subtle but expert vocals. It would be one of 17 albums the prolific Parrott cut for Venus Records between 2008 and 2017; she also cut several more albums with Sportiello, and kept up a busy schedule playing jazz clubs and music festivals around the world. In 2017 Parrott also released Dear Blossom, her tribute to the influential jazz vocalist Blossom Dearie. Another homage, Stompin' at the Savoy: A Tribute to Ella & Louis, featuring trumpeter Byron Stripling, arrived the following year. She also released New York to Paris with saxophonist Harry Allen. Allen was also on board for 2021's If You Could Read My Mind, which found Parrott interpreting a mix of songs from various eras, including "Jolene," "We've Only Just Begun," "Lean of Me," and others. In 2024, she returned with Feelin' Groovy, an organ-drenched collection of songs from the '60s, including classics like Jorge Ben's "Mas Que Nada," "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Nilsson's "Everyone's Talkin'." ~ Matt Collar & Mark Deming

Stanley Jordan, Nicki Parrott, Les Paul Trio

Stanley Jordan

Going to Stanley Jordan, Nicki Parrott, Les Paul Trio?