Fresh off an NPR Jazz Night in America feature, the two-time Grammy winner brings her extraordinary gifts as a vocalist, pianist, songwriter, and arranger to Buffalo this November—opening the 2026–2027 Jazz at Kleinhans season with an artist who is helping shape the future of jazz and the Great American Songbook.
There are moments when an artist’s career reaches an inflection point—when extraordinary talent becomes undeniable, and the rest of the jazz world begins to fully recognize what has been building for years.
For Nicole Zuraitis, that moment is now.
This week, NPR’s Jazz Night in America devoted an entire episode to Nicole and her remarkable new album, The Devil I Knew. Hosted by Christian McBride, the program explores the inspiration behind her ambitious 20-track, five-part concept album, offering listeners an intimate look into the creative mind of one of jazz’s most compelling artists today.
For Buffalo audiences, it also confirms something we believed when announcing the Jazz at Kleinhans season.
Nicole Zuraitis is exactly the kind of artist we want opening our 2026–2027 season.
She represents not only the future of jazz, but the future of the Great American Songbook.
And defines the concept of the Modern Songbook in today’s modern jazz world.
What makes Nicole so exceptional is that she is not simply an extraordinary vocalist. She is a complete artist.
She writes. She arranges. She plays piano. She leads her own ensembles.
And perhaps most remarkably, she continues to create original music that stands comfortably alongside the timeless songs that have shaped jazz for generations. In doing so, she embodies what she has called the Modern Songbook Society—the belief that today’s artists can honor the Great American Songbook while creating new works that become part of tomorrow’s jazz tradition.
That combination remains surprisingly rare.
When Nicole won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album with How Love Begins, she became the first artist ever to win the award with an album for which she wrote and arranged every composition herself. It was a landmark achievement that redefined what is possible for today’s jazz vocalist.
Now, with The Devil I Knew, she has raised the artistic bar even higher.
Produced by the legendary Larry Klein, the album unfolds as a deeply personal five-part musical journey exploring accountability, resilience, vulnerability, and transformation. During her conversation with Christian McBride, Nicole explains that while the work draws from her own experiences, its purpose reaches beyond autobiography.
“It’s not about me. It’s about what the listener hears in the end, or what they need to hear.”
That perspective says everything about the kind of artist she has become.
Nicole isn’t simply writing songs.
She is contributing new works to the evolving language of jazz.
That is one of the reasons I believe she is destined to become a multiple Grammy-winning artist over the course of her career.
Great jazz vocalists are always treasured.
Great jazz vocalists who also compose, arrange, perform, and create enduring original music are exceptionally rare.
Those artists become part of jazz history.
That is precisely why we wanted Buffalo audiences to experience Nicole Zuraitis now.
One of the goals of Jazz at Kleinhans has always been to elevate Buffalo’s place on the international jazz map—not simply by presenting legendary artists, but by identifying today’s defining voices while they are actively shaping the future of the music.
Nicole Zuraitis embodies that vision perfectly.
As artists like Branford Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, John Pizzarelli, Emmet Cohen, Alfredo Rodríguez, and now Nicole Zuraitis continue to make Buffalo a stop on their artistic journeys, something important is happening.
Buffalo is becoming recognized as a city that values artistic excellence.
A city that embraces the Great American Songbook.
A city that welcomes artists whose work is changing the future of jazz.
On Sunday, November 8, Buffalo audiences will experience more than a two-time Grammy-winning artist. They will witness one of today’s most compelling voices in jazz—an artist helping define the Modern Songbook while honoring the timeless traditions of the Great American Songbook. That is precisely the kind of artist Jazz at Kleinhans was created to present.
That is exactly the kind of artist Jazz at Kleinhans was created to present.
Before she arrives in Buffalo, I encourage everyone to spend an hour with NPR’s Jazz Night in America. Listen to the conversation with Christian McBride. Listen to the music. Then join us this November as we welcome Nicole Zuraitis to open another remarkable season of Jazz at Kleinhans.
