Fresh from a successful tour of Japan, Nicki Parrott is looking forward to her first glimpse of the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues.
The vocalist and double bassist will take the stage at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre at 1pm on the Sunday of the festival, which runs from Friday, 31 October to Monday, 3 November.
Nicki played at last month's Manly Jazz Festival, and more recently has seen the impact of the genre in Japan, where she toured earlier this month with the all-female Nippon Quartet.
"I haven't been to Wangaratta, but my sister (saxophonist Lisa Parrott) has been there, and I've been hearing for years that it's a great music festival," Nicki said.
"Anything that gets people and families out and dancing in front of the stage and creates that 'good feeling' stuff is what we need to see more of."
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Originally from Newcastle, Nicki started her musical training at the age of four, playing piano and flute.
"My parents were big music lovers, especially classical music; we had classical music playing at home a lot, then in my teens I got into jazz," she said.
"I went to jazz camp in Sydney with friends, got the jazz bug, and we came back and formed a band."
At 15, Nicki switched from flute to double bass, and was self-taught for a number of years before graduating high school and moving to Sydney to study jazz at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music.
"I knew by year 12 that this was something I wanted to pursue," she said.
She was granted funds by the Arts Council to study in New York with Rufus Reid, and went on to spend 10 years as bassist and vocalist for the legendary guitarist, songwriter and inventor Les Paul.
"When I started sitting in on Les' residency, we got along incredibly well, and after I'd been filling in, he fired the other bass player; he was 84 when I started playing with him, and I wondered how much longer he'd continue - he played for another 10 years, and only missed a Monday night to go and collect his Grammy," she said.
"You don't often get the chance to talk to an inventor who is also a player; it was almost like a show backstage as well as onstage."
As part of the Les Paul Trio, Nicki worked side-by-side with guitar greats including Paul McCartney, Steve Miller and fellow Aussie Tommy Emmanuel.
She also performed in many Broadway shows and at most of the world's top jazz venues and festivals, including The Jazz Cruise and sold-out performances at Birdland and Dizzy’s in New York.
"I visited New York in 1991, and thought, 'I have to come back here'; I didn't intend to stay, but I got a job in fashion, selling prints on paper to designers, in between gigs," she said.
"After 10 months, they offered me a full-time job, but I couldn't take it; I thought, 'I came to New York to play', so I took a risk and focused on that; it was a great time."
Nicki moved back to Australia in 2022, settling in Ocean Shores near Byron Bay, and continues to take on annual European tours and "bits and pieces" in other parts of the world.
She's also been enjoying the chance to teach year 12 music students, and give back to the industry of which she's loved being part.
That passion will be on show on Sunday, 2 November when Nicki performs in Wangaratta with her trio.
"In a nutshell, it’s about the audience - I want the audience to have a great time," she said.
