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Carole is a London-born jazz pianist, saxophonist and composer who has been living in Ireland since 1986.
Carole is a London-born jazz pianist, saxophonist and composer who has been living in Ireland since 1986.
Her current project, the Carole Nelson Trio, with Carole on piano, bassist Cormac O'Brien and drummer Dominic Mullen, began at the 2015 Dublin Trio Trio Trio Piano Festival. The Trio’s first album, One Day in Winter was released November 2017.
The album, all original compositions from Carole, follows the course of a winter’s day, inspired by the South County Carlow landscape between the River Barrow and the Blackstairs Mountains, where she currently lives.'A finely-wraught meditation that tapped into the spacious European piano trio tradition of Tord Gustavsen and Marcin Wasilewski' Cormac Larkin, Irish Times.
Arboreal is the trio's second album, released February 2020 and features another collection of outstanding compositions.'One of the most original jazz composers in Ireland' Irish Times'a rare and exceptional talent' Irish Times.
Carole formed Zrazy with vocalist Maria Walsh in 1991. Their debut CD Give It All Up won the 1992 Hot Press/Music Critics Best New Band Award. Carole has since recorded five further albums of critically-acclaimed and award-winning music with Zrazy. Their 1998 album Private Wars won an American GLAMA award (Gay and Lesbian American Music Award) for Best Jazz. Zrazy performed this year at the Galway Jazz Festival, the Cork Jazz Festival and have toured extensively in North America and Europe.
"glorious free-spirited jazz” – The Irish Times
Carole has arranged original music for the Dublin choir Gloria. Her composition Beloved and other arrangements are now performed by choirs worldwide.
Carole's theatre work includes composition for The Trojan Women at the Peacock and Emma Donoghues's Ladies and Gentlemen at the Project.
More About this Artist
Irish Times“a rare and elegant talent ”
All About Jazz Magazine“'Nelson is, without question, as the refined language of her writing and playing constantly reiterates, a singular voice,' ”