Woods Hole Jazz Presents Nicki Parrott with Jon Weber

Nicki Parrott, world-renowned double bassist and jazz vocalist, performs with Jon Weber, host of NPR’s Piano Jazz with Jon Weber, on Tuesday, April 7th, 7:30PM at Woods Hole Community Hall, 68 Water Street, Woods Hole, 02543 as part of the Woods Hole Jazz series. Tickets are $20.

Born in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki Parrott started her musical training at age four, studying piano, flute, and eventually double bass. She attended the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney where she won many awards and scholarships including first place in the Jazz Action Society’s Song Competition and a grant from the Arts Counsel of Australia to come to New York to study with premier bassist and educator Rufus Reid.

Parrott quickly established herself as a top New York musician and was the long time bassist and vocalist for the legendary Les Paul, who said of her, “She has that special gift you cannot buy in a music store.”  She continues to appear regularly as part of Les Paul's Trio.  She has performed with jazz greats Randy Brecker, Clark Terry, Jose Feliciano, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Dick Hyman and Michel Legrand among many others. Jazz Times described her playing this way, “Nicki brings clear articulation, beautiful tone, a sense of rhythmic assuredness, and a touch of allure to inventive arrangements.”

Parrott has recorded 15 vocal albums for the Japanese label, Venus Records, has made numerous recordings for Arbors Records, and released her first CD on Ooroo Records this year. She received Swing Journal’s Best Jazz Vocal Award in 2007 and 2008 for her albums, Moon River and Fly Me to the Moon. Her album Black Coffee received Swing Journal’s Gold Disc Award in 2010.

Parrott has appeared at most international jazz festivals including Newport, Detroit, Newport Beech, Ascona, and Bern. She has also performed in the Broadway shows: “Avenue Q”, “Imaginary Friends”, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, “Summer of ’42” and “Jekyll and Hyde” and has made several television and documentary appearances including “The Gossip Girls”, “Chasing Sound” and “Thank You Les”, a tribute to Les Paul, which debuted on PBS in 2013. Parrott is known as both a top-notch musician and a wonderful entertainer. Cabaret Scenes Magazine says, "Nicki Parrott could make anyone love jazz."  

Jazz pianist Jon Weber has recorded and toured all over the world, winning numerous honors for performance, composition and television scoring. Gary Burton, Roy Hargrove, Niels-Henning, Ørsted Pedersen and Avishai Cohen have all recorded Weber’s music. His most recent album SIMPLE COMPLEX, a collection of is original compositions, was critically acclaimed. Jon lives in New York City and hosts NPR’s Piano Jazz with Jon Weber. He was a frequent guest host for Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, which ran on NPR for 40 years.  "He's at once an exceptional musician as well as a gifted historian and storyteller, and, above all, a true piano polymath.” -Wall Street Journal.

Tickets are available online at www.WoodsHoleJazz.org or in person at Eight Cousins Books in Falmouth, Under the Sun in Woods Hole, or cash at the door while tickets last.