Nicki Parrott came to New York in May 1994 on
an Arts Council grant from Australia to study with the
internationally
acclaimed bassist, Rufus Reid. Nicki currently plays every Monday night at the
Iridium Jazz Club with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. Since
her arrival, she has performed with such notable musicians as Clark Terry,
Billy Taylor, Terri Thornton, Holly Hoffman, DIVA, Marlena Shaw, Patrice
Rushen, Skitch Henderson, the New York Pops and Florida Pops Orchestras with
DIVA, Bucky Pizzarelli, Warren Vache Jr., Rebecca Paris, Ron Jackson, Bernard
Purdie, Roy Meriwether and David Krakauer.
Nicki has performed at such major festivals in the USA as Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Overseas, she has performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Cully Lavaux and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Edinburgh and Grimsby Jazz Festivals in the UK, the Ottawa Jazz Festival in Canada, and various Australian festivals.
Born in 1970 in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki started her musical
training with the piano at the age of four, and soon after took up the flute as
well. She continued to play flute and piano throughout her school years, but
switched to double bass at the age of 15 because her sister Lisa who plays alto
sax wanted a bassist for her group. After completing high school, Nicki moved
to Sydney to study jazz at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and
shortly after began to play with well-known Australian musicians such as Mike
Nock, Dale Barlow, Paul Grabowsky, Bernie McGann, and Ten Part Invention. She
also toured Australia with Russian musicians Daniel Kramer and Alexander
Fischer and American trumpeters Bobby Shew and Chuck Findley.
Nicki studied with various bassists in Australia, and when
visiting bassists such as Ray Brown and John Clayton were in town, Nicki would
take a lesson with them. She is also the recipient of two awards, the first
being a scholarship to Pan Pacific Music Camps at the age of 16, and first
place in the 1992 Jazz Action Society's Annual Song Competition for her
composition Come and Get It, which is the opening track of Nicki and LisaÕs
debut CD. She was also nominated for the annual "Australian Young
Achievers Award" by the Arts Council of Australia who granted her the
funds to come to New York to study with Rufus Reid.