Rachel Carmel Hakim ( née Nicolazzo), better known as Rachel Z, is a jazz and rock pianist and keyboardist. She has recorded 10 solo albums as a jazz musician. Her musical style, especially her improvisation, has been described as adjacent to Herbie Hancock and

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

Career

In 1988, she co-wrote the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning and certified Gold Record "Tokyo Blue" with saxophonist Najee. From 1988 to 1996, she played keyboards and piano with fusion band

Steps Ahead Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group. History The group arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker. The first three al ...

. In 1995, she worked with

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

on his album '' High Life'', which won a

Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality ...

in 1997. While signed to Columbia Records by Dr. George Butler, she released ''Trust the Universe'' which featured a straight-ahead jazz A-side with

Charnett Moffett Charnett Moffett (June 10, 1967 – April 11, 2022) was an American jazz bassist. Moffett began playing bass in the family band, touring the Far East in 1975 at the age of eight. In the mid-1980s, he played with Wynton Marsalis and Branford Ma ...

and

Al Foster Aloysius Tyrone Foster (born January 18, 1943) is an American jazz drummer. Foster's professional career began in the mid-60s, when he played and recorded with hard bop and swing musicians including Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet. Foster ...

and an electric jazz B-side with Lenny White and Victor Bailey. In 199, she recorded her next solo CD, ''Room of One's Own – A Tribute to Women Artists.'' It won four stars in DownBeat and extensive critical acclaim for the original compositions and wind ensemble arrangements. In 1999, Hakim was a part of a jazz fusion project by

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first ja ...

and Lenny White. The project, entitled Vertú, also featured such artists as Karen Briggs on violin and

Richie Kotzen Richard Dale Kotzen Jr. (born February 3, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. As a solo artist, Kotzen has back catalogue of more than 20 album releases. He was a member of glam metal band Poison from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Big ...

on guitar and resulted in an album of the same name that year. She experimented with her own rock group Peacebox as a vocalist. During this time, she was also working with the Neapolitan pop legend

Pino Daniele Giuseppe Daniele (19 March 1955 – 4 January 2015), known as Pino Daniele, was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music. Biograp ...

, with whom she first began working in 1996 and toured with until his death in 2015. She toured with Peter Gabriel during his Growing Up tours from 2002 to 2006, which gave Rachel the opportunity to widen her fan base and work with bassist

Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 1 ...

. Her project, entitled "Dept. of Good and Evil", on Savoy received positive reviews. In 2010, she formed a new band with her husband

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer, producer, arranger and composer. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Journey, Kate ...

, entitled "The Trio Of OZ" which released its first CD and began touring. They both also launched OZmosis Records in 2010. This group performed internationally with Solomon Dorsey on bass and joined Pino Daniele for La Grande Madre Tour in 2012 while also performing OZ tour dates. In 2013–14, she recorded and toured as additional synth for The Omar Hakim Experience. She played synth with Wayne Escoffery for his US and Euro tour of 2014 release of ''Live at Firehouse 12''. She toured with

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

in 2014 for the Mosaictour and recorded on the 2015 release of Mosaic 2 "Love and Soul" on Concords Records. In 2015, she joined

Neal Schon Neal ( Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

Vortex to open for rock band

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

for 17 gigs in Canada. Hakim and her husband formed the OZExperience, now "Ozmosys" (Omar and Rachel Z), and in 2019, the new group recorded an EP Eyes to the Future Vol.1 at

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

. The five-track EP was released on November 4, 2019 with

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...

on guitar and Linley Marthe on bass, with J. C. Maillard on additional guitar and voice. The band was hailed at the opening night of the 2019 London Jazz Festival in

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'', launched in 1997, is the UK jazz monthly magazine. ''Jazzwise'' has a broad sub-genre coverage, from jazz, improv, hard bop, and jazz-rock to bebop and classic jazz, and also covers jazz crossover, including jazz-funk, jazz hip-h ...

Personal life

Hakim is married to

, an American jazz drummer. A graduate of the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

, she has been a professor at the College for the Performing Arts at The New School University (jazz and contemporary music studies) since 2000. She is a visiting artist at the

Berklee Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Electronic Production and Design Department since 2018 intermittently. She attended SUNY Purchase in 2019–2021 and earned a master's degree in Studio Composition with recognition of “Outstanding Student Award” in Studio Composition and Electronic Music.

Discography

As leader

* ''Trust the Universe'' ( Columbia, 1993) * ''A Room of One's Own'' (NYC, 1996) * ''Love Is the Power'' ( GRP, 1998) * ''On the Milkyway Express'' ( Tone Center, 2000) * ''Moon at the Window'' (Tone Center, 2002) * ''First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'' (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, 2003) * ''Everlasting'' (Tone Center, 2004) * ''Grace'' ( Chesky, 2005) * ''Mortal'' (ArtistShare, 2006) * ''Dept of Good and Evil'' ( Savoy/WEA, 2007) * ''I Will Possess Your Heart'' (Pony Canyon, 2009)

As a member

, ''Yin Yang'' (NYC, 1990) * Vertú, '' Vertú'' (Sony, 1999) * The Trio of OZ, ''The Trio of OZ'' (OZmosis, 2010) * The

Experience, ''We are One'' (OZmosis, 2014) * OZmosys, ''Eyes To The Future, Vol. 1'' EP (OZmosis, 2019)

As guest

With

* ''Medina'' (Sony, 2001) * ''Pino Daniele, Francesco De Gregori, Fiorella Mannoia, Ron - In Tour'' (Sony, 2002) * ''Concerto: Medina Live'' (Sony, 2002) * ''Electric Jam'' (Sony, 2009) * ''Boogie Boogie Man'' (Sony, 2010) * ''La Grande Madre'' (Blue Drag/Sony, 2012) With Al Di Meola * ''Kiss My Axe'' (

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

, 1991) * ''The Infinite Desire'' (Universal, 1998) With Peter Gabriel * ''Hit'' ( Real World, 2003) * ''Growing Up Live Tour'' (Real World, 2004) * ''Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped'' (Real World, 2005) With others *

Bobby Watson Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. Music career Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...

– ''Urban Renewal'' (

Kokopelli Kokopelli () is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fer ...

, 1995) *

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

– ''Regina Carter'' ( Atlantic Jazz, 1995) *

– ''

Highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and wester ...

'' ( Verve, 1995) * Wayne Escofferey – ''Firehouse 12'' ( Sunnyside, 2013) *

– ''Mosaic 2'' (Concord, 2015)

Movies

With Peter Gabriel * ''Growing Up Live'' (Real World, 2004) * ''Still Growing Up Live'' (Real World, 2005) * “Al DiMeola Live at the Palladium” (Tomato Records, 1996)

References

External links

Official site

Trio of OZ

Bio at Party of the Century

Video interview at Allaboutjazz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachel Z Living people New England Conservatory alumni Berklee College of Music alumni American jazz pianists Women jazz pianists Year of birth missing (living people) Chesky Records artists Columbia Records artists GRP Records artists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists Vertú members Steps Ahead members