The annual Bistro and The Gallery Jazz Concert at View will be held Thursday, September 20, featuring vocalist and bassist, Nicki Parrott, accompanied by renowned guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and Chuck Redd, accomplished performer on drums and vibraphone.
Nicki Parrott
Nicki Parrott was born and raised in Australia and came to the U.S. in 1994 as an unknown double bassist.
She was drawn to music at age five, she said, when her parents bought a piano.
“I did classical piano and classical flute until I was a teenager when I switched to double bass,” she said. She has been a bassist ever since.
To support herself after arriving in New York City, she got a job selling textile designs to fashion designers while trying to break into the music business.
But after eight months she quit the job.
“It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do with my life. So I did what every musician does in New York. You go out and try to meet as many musicians as possible and try to play as much as possible,” Parrott said.
She did everything from playing bass in the pit for Broadway shows to a little bit of classical jazz.
Eventually she was discovered by the legendary Les Paul, who asked her to play the double bass in his band.
She performed in the Les Paul Trio every Monday night as bassist and vocalist from 2000 to 2010, she said. She has also performed with various other jazz artists, including Randy Brecker, Clark Terry and Jose Feliciano.
She also performs frequently with Bucky Pizzarelli and Chuck Redd who are joining her in the Jazz Trio at View.
Bucky Pizzarelli
Bucky Pizzarelli’s legendary career spans six decades with performances at White House concerts with Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra, with the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra, and many other jazz legends.
He was honored with the Jazz Wall of Fame by ASCAP in 2005 and has received many other prestigious awards.
A resident of New Jersey all of his life, he was recently inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame and two of his guitars, along with his recorded history, have been placed in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
He serves on the faculty of William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ.
He developed his own technique on the 7 string guitar and he has written and published three guitar instructional method books.
“We’ve known each other for many years,” said Parrott. “He’s an incredible musician and he has some great arrangements.”
Chuck Redd
Chuck Redd has been performing and recording internationally since he was 21, when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio.
He was the featured vibraphonist with the Mel Torme All-Star Jazz Quintet from 1991 to1996 and served as Artist-In-Residence at The Smithsonian Jazz Cafe in Washington, DC from 2004 to 2008.
In 2007 he performed with the prestigious Milt Jackson Tribute Band. Other highlights include a concert with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet in Africa, a recital at the White House with the Barney Kessel Trio and concerts at Carnegie Hall with the Mel Torme Quintet.
In 2008 he was featured in the finale concert at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz festival with The Lionel Hampton Big Band and the Clayton/ Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
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