Nicky Crayson Trio

Nicky Crayson is one of the finest jazz singers in the country. Taking influence from some of the greats including Billie Holiday and Betty Carter it’s helped Crayson develop a unique style to her performance. Throughout her stellar career she’s worked with many luminaries and different ensembles and her upcoming performance at the Mildura Jazz Wine and Food festival over the last weekend in October sees her opening the festival with her trio comprising Jeremy Sawkins on guitar and Hugh Fraser on Bass.
As we begin to chat, Crayson is full of energy and enthusiasm for her career and it’s easy to hear music is a deep passion of hers. It seems that one of the main philosophies she lives by is that you should be in the music business for the love of it and not for the prospect of making money.
“So much has been happening lately and before you rang I was enjoying some sunshine and doing some gardening. Last year we did the album with the Paul McNamara Trio and I’ve been doing a series of soirees and did a gig with a classical quartet which was fantastic fun. It’s been really interesting collaborating with all of these different musicians on project,” Crayson says.
As well as performing, Crayson has for many years been in demand as a jazz singing teacher at Macquarie University, University of Newcastle and the Sydney Conservatorium. As you would expect, to be able to learn from one of the best jazz singers in the country would be a dream come true and definitely set you on the path to big things.
From auditioning for a theatre show comprising of all Cole Porter songs at the age of 12, Crayson was unaware of the path her career would take her on – entering as a joke led to some pretty big opportunities. “I auditioned for that show and didn’t really think anything of it. I got the lead role in that and got spotted by an agent that led to singing in other clubs around Sydney. Things just started to snowball from that point,” she says.
From there, Crayson got the break of a lifetime as she was singing downstairs in a club that the one and only Tony Bennett was playing in. Bennett came down and heard Crayson perform and gave her the offer of a lifetime.
“Tony came down and heard me and there was a newspaper reporter there and he went on record saying I was one of the greatest voices that he had heard. What a compliment!” she says.
“He offered to fly me to New York and help me start performing internationally, but I love Australia and my life here too much so I had to decline his offer. We have still kept in contact all these years though and I went and had dinner with him and saw him perform the last time he came out.”
With such a jam packed 2015, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of slowing down in the lead up to the New Year. 2016 will hopefully, fingers crossed, see the evolution of the Nicky Crayson Trio album featuring the current line-up.
“We’ve been talking about doing a record some time next year; we just have to see how it fits into everyone’s schedules. It’ll be great to play at Mildura and it’ll be a great mix of tunes in the set so come on down Forte!” she says.
Written by Tex Miller
When & Where: Mildura Jazz Food and Wine Festival, Mildura – October 30-November 2