The Dan Pugach Nonet with Grammy Award-Winner Nicole Zuraitis

Dan Pugach is a GRAMMY® Award nominated drummer and composer, a three-time recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Jazz Composer Award, a winner of the BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize/Manny Albam Commission as part of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, and a Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency Program participant at the Kennedy Center (where he worked with Curtis Fuller, Nathan Davis and George Cables). He was the featured drummer on the 2024 GRAMMY® Award winning album “How Love Begins,” co-produced by Nicole Zuraitis and Christian McBride.
Dan is the leader of The Dan Pugach Nonet and the Dan Pugach Big Band, playing his original music and arrangements. The Nonet and Big Band tour regularly, and have played at Bird’s Eye Basel, The Zone in Tel Aviv, Blue Note Jazz, Birdland Jazz Club, The 55bar, Smalls Jazz Club, The Jazz Loft, The Jazz Estate, Stowe Jazz Festival, and esteemed Performing Arts Centers across the country.
Dan’s debut nonet album, “Plus One” (2018), was released on UNIT Records and charted on jazz radio in the top 20. The album includes Dan’s arrangement of Jolene (Dolly Parton), which was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award (Best Arrangement, Instruments with Vocals) alongside vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. His latest album, “Bianca,” released in March 2024, features his big band with all original compositions.
Dan currently lives in both Brooklyn, NY and Connecticut. Born in Israel, he servedas the drummer for The Air Force Band in the IDF while attending the Rimon School of Jazz at the same time. Dan moved to the United States in 2006 and received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with Terri Lynn Carrington, Hal Crook, and Joe Lovano. He received his M.A in music from the City College of New York, where he studied with Mike Holober and Scott Reeves.

With a "heart as big as her remarkable voice" (Jazz Police), GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz vocalist Nicole Zuraitis has captivated audiences worldwide and has quickly emerged as one of the most sought-after artists of the moment. The New York-based jazz singer-songwriter and pianist recently sold out Dizzy's Club in her Jazz at Lincoln Center bandleader debut, and her sixth and most recent album, How Love Begins, won the GRAMMY for BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM. Co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride, the record features all original music. An ardent environmentalist, her album release coincided with a self-produced day-long fundraiser for Save the Sound at Park City Music Hall in Bridgeport, CT. 
Winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal, Nicole has established herself as a staple on the New York jazz scene, headlining such venues as Birdland, Blue Note, Dizzy’s, and more. As a touring artist, she has made a significant mark on the global modern jazz landscape, appearing as a featured soloist with Savannah Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, and other noted pops orchestras. Additionally, she has played and sung with iconic singers such as Morgan James and Darren Criss.
Nicole's arrangement of Dolly Parton's Jolene, co-written with renowned drummer and bandleader Dan Pugach, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY®, springboarding her career and making her a household name in the modern-day jazz landscape. In 2020, she was named in the top 40 under 40 for 2020 in Connecticut Magazine, and her weekly livestream during the Covid-19 crisis, "Virtual Piano Lounge," was featured in Forbes Magazine.
Nicole's critically acclaimed 2018 release, Hive Mind (Dot Time Records), earned the title of 'Best Jazz Album' in the 2018 International Music and Entertainment Awards. She was a finalist in the International Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition, and her original composition "The Coffee Song" won the New York City Coffee Music Project Songwriting Competition. Nicole has collaborated with an extensive list of luminaries, including Cyrille Aimee, Antonio Sanchez, Dave Stryker, Livingston Taylor, Tom Chapin, Omar Hakim, Melanie Safka, Helen Sung, and Bernard Purdie. She is a proud educator and teaches jazz and songwriting worldwide, having held positions at Berklee College of Music, SAM in India, The Australian Embassy, and the Lithuanian Consulate. She currently serves on faculty at New York University. In 2024, Post University awarded Nicole an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.
For more information, visit www.nicolezmusic.com or tag @nicolezmusic.