Rachel Carmel Hakim (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Nicolazzo), better known as Rachel Z, is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

pianist and keyboardist. She has recorded 13 albums as a leader and jazz musician. Her musical style, especially her improvisation, has been described as adjacent to

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

and

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, 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 Masters, NEA J ...

Career

In 1999, Hakim was a part of a

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

project by

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, 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 jazz-fus ...

and

Lenny White Leonard White III (born December 19, 1949) is an American jazz fusion drummer who was a member of the band Return to Forever led by Chick Corea in the 1970s. White has been called "one of the founding fathers of jazz fusion". White has won thre ...

. The project, entitled Vertú, also featured such artists as Karen Briggs on violin and Richie Kotzen 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 musician Pino Daniele, with whom she first began working in 1996 and toured with until his death in 2015. She toured with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

during his Growing Up tours from

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, 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 guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...

. Her project, entitled "Dept. of Good and Evil", on Savoy received positive reviews. Hakim and her husband

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American drummer, producer, arranger and composer. His session work covers jazz, jazz fusion, and pop music. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Chic, Sting, Madonna, Dire S ...

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 electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

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

Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator, keyboardist and record label owner. Biography Born in Philadelphia to a musical family, Rosenwinkel began taking piano lessons when ...

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'' is a British monthly magazine focused on jazz, launched in 1997. The magazine covers a range of jazz sub-genres and provides news coverage, a national gig guide, a jazz-on-film page, feature articles, and a review section that evalua ...

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 often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, 2003) * ''Everlasting'' (Tone Center, 2004) * ''Grace'' ( Chesky, 2005) * ''Mortal'' (ArtistShare, 2006) * ''Dept of Good and Evil'' (

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

/WEA, 2007) * ''I Will Possess Your Heart'' (Pony Canyon, 2009) * ''Sensual (feat. Omar Hakim)'' (Dot Time, 2024)

As a member

* Steps Ahead, ''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 Pino Daniele * ''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 Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

* ''Kiss My Axe'' (

Tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

, 1991) * ''The Infinite Desire'' (Universal, 1998) With

* ''Hit'' ( Real World, 2003) * ''Growing Up Live Tour'' (Real World, 2004) * ''Still Growing Up Live & Unwrapped'' (Real World, 2005) With others * Bobby Watson – ''Urban Renewal'' ( Kokopelli, 1995) * Regina Carter – ''Regina Carter'' ( Atlantic Jazz, 1995) *

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

– ''

Highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...

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

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 (band), ...

– ''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

Trio of OZ

Bio at Party of the Century

Video interview at Allaboutjazz.com

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Rachel Z
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachel Z Living people New England Conservatory alumni Berklee College of Music alumni American jazz pianists American 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