Biography
Suzy Nichols, a DownBeat award-winning vocalist, has been performing and teaching jazz for over 20 years. Suzy’s vocal abilities are influenced heavily by her instrumental background. She began playing the trumpet in big bands at the age of 11, and at age 14 began fronting them as a vocalist. Her distinctive articulation, phrasing, and scatting are defining characteristics of her vocal style.
Suzy has performed at prestigious venues such as the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Jazz a Vienne (France), Aarhus Jazz Festival (Denmark), Stampen Jazz Club (Sweden), North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy), Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola (NYC), Telluride Jazz Festival (Colorado), Ryles Jazz Club (Boston), among others. She has performed with jazz legends like Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Christian McBride, Bob Berg, Lenny Picket, Stefon Harris, Bobby Shew, Wycliffe Gordon, and many more.
Suzy studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Beyond performing, Suzy is a talented composer and arranger and enjoys pushing the boundaries of her creative expression. She performs regularly in many contexts, and is the vocalist for the Brazilian jazz combo, Samba Rio.