The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Jazz series continues with Dan Pugach, Nicole Zuraitis
WATERBURY — The Dan Pugach Nonet and special guest Nicole Zuraitis are the next performers in the jazz series at the Poli Club at the Palace Theater, with 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows Dec. 10. The series is presented by New England Arts & Entertainment.
According to NEAE, Pugach is a Grammy-nominated drummer and composer, residing in Brooklyn, NY. He was born in Israel and moved to the U.S. in 2006. He served as the drummer for the Air Force Band, while attending the Rimon School of Jazz at the same time. He received a bachelor of music degree from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Terri Lynn Carrington, Hal Crook, and Joe Lovano, and an M.A in music from the City College of New York, where he studied with Mike Holober and Scott Reeves.
He is the leader of the Dan Pugach Nonet, a nine-piece ensemble playing his original music and his arrangements. This ensemble tours regularly and has played at Bird’s Eye Basel, The Zone in Tel Aviv, Blue Note Jazz, The 55bar, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Loft, The Jazz Estate, Stowe Jazz Festival among respected Performing Arts Theaters across the nation.
In 2011, Pugach received the ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award for his Nonet piece “Discourse This!”. In the same year, he was selected to participate at the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency Program at the Kennedy Center, where he worked with Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis and George Cables. In 2013 he received another ASCAP Jazz Composer Award for his Nonet piece “Brooklyn Blues”.
His debut 2018 nonet release, “Plus One” on UNIT Records has made it to top 20 jazz radio charts and includes his arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” that was Grammy-nominated for Best Arrangement, Instruments with Vocals, alongside Zuraitis.
He is the 2019 winner of the BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize/Manny Albam Commission as part of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and the 2021 winner of the Café Royal Cultural Foundation Music grantee for producing his second album with his big band.
According to her website, Nicole Zuraitis is a Grammy-nominated New York-based vocalist, pianist, and songwriter who took home the Gold Medal and Ben Tucker Jazz Award in the 2021 American Traditions Competition. She her signature warmth and outstanding vocals to various genres and styles, as demonstrated on her newest multi-hyphenate album, “All Wandering Hearts” (DotTime Records). As a band leader, a recording artist, and the premiere vocalist of the world-famous Birdland Big Band and Dan Pugach Nonet, she has established herself as a staple on the New York City jazz scene and has made a significant mark on the global modern jazz landscape.
Seating is general admission. Tickets are available at the Palace Theater Box Office at www.PalaceTheaterCT.org or 203-3462000. Information on all the upcoming shows can be found on www.neaae.com