Nicki Parrott - Stompin’ At The Savoy (2018)

Recorded at Trading 8's Studio in New York on February 19,20 & 21, 2018.
Dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong! A wonderful jazz album featuring the return of Louis to the trumpet and song, Byron Stripling, and singing and playing their favorite songs in a Nikki style.
I think I’m a bit of a Parrott fan! This is one of my favourite albums of Nicki’s. Byron’s playing and singing is first rate too. I think the album should be titled “and” rather than “featuring” Byron Stripling as Byron plays an equal part throughout the album.

Born in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki started her musical training at age four with the piano, followed by the flute, soon after. Nicki switched to double bass at the age of 15, and after graduating high school she moved to Sydney to study jazz at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. In June 2000, Nicki began performing on Monday nights at the Iridium Jazz Club with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. As part of the Les Paul Trio, Nicki worked side-by-side with guitar greats from Paul McCartney, Slash, Steve Miller to fellow Aussie, Tommy Emmanuel. Since then she has performed with such notable musicians as Michel Legrand, Joe Wilder, Randy Brecker, Clark Terry, Jose Feliciano, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Dick Hyman, Patti Labelle & the New York Pops Orchestra, Harry Allen, Marlena Shaw, David Krakauer, Ken Peplowski, Ann Hampton Callaway, Bill Mays, Scott Hamilton, Lillian Boutte, Larry Carlton and Houston Person, just to name a few. She has recorded tribute albums to Burt Bacharach, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Blossom Dearie, Peggy Lee, and the Carpenters.
A powerhouse trumpeter, gifted with a soulful voice and a charismatic onstage swagger, Byron Stripling has delighted audiences internationally. As soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Stripling has performed frequently under the baton of Keith Lockhart. He was a featured soloist on the PBS television special, "Evening at Pops" with conductors John Williams and Mr. Lockhart. Currently, Stripling serves as artistic director and conductor of the highly acclaimed award winning Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Byron Stripling's electrifying and heartfelt tribute to Louis Armstrong has become America's most popular orchestral pops program. With his engaging rapport, jazzy vocals and virtuosic trumpet sounds, Byron dazzles audiences wherever he goes.