Carole Nelson is an award-winning jazz musician, composer and teacher
based in Co Carlow and Dublin

Performance

• currently performs as pianist, saxophonist and vocalist with my own jazz ensemble Zrazy. Zrazy has toured worldwide, recorded five CDs, and received national and international awards.

• venues in Ireland include The National Concert Hall, Cork Jazz Festival and many arts centres around the country.

• works with US singer Bobbie Carey and Aoife Corcoran

I am available as a session musician and accompanist, in both classical and contemporary music, in Dublin and the South East. Contact me.

Recordings

• Give it All Up – Zrazy

• Permanent Happiness – Zrazy

“Brilliant songs which resonate in the head long after the disc has become silent” – Hot Press

• Living Our Lives – Zrazy

• Private Wars – Zrazy

“A fine album that shows that the art of sophisticated song-writing is alive and well and living in Ireland” Ronan Guilfoyle – Jazz Educator and Composer

• Dream On – Zrazy

“The saxophone playing of Nelson is superb” – The Sunday Times

Click here for album press reviews.

Click here to listen to examples of my compositions and playing.

I am available for recording sessions, sax, piano, vocal harmony and brass arrangements. Contact me.

Awards

• Irish gold disc for Ooh Ah Paul McGrath 1993

• Smithwicks/Hot Press Music Critics Award for best new band (Zrazy) 1993

• USA GLAMA award for ‘Best Jazz' with Private Wars 2000

• USA Outmusic award for Dream On 2004

• Billboard International Songwriting Award (Jazz) 2002

Composer, Songwriter, Musical Director and Arranger

• composed music for opera Gilgamesh with writer Melissa Murray for Opera Cornwall

• all Zrazy's lyrics and most of Zrazy's music, encompassing dance, pop, jazz and world music. I continue to compose for Zrazy, exploring and expanding our musical horizons

• composed for and played saxophone in The Trojan Women with Rough Magic at Peacock Theatre, Dublin

• composition and MD for Ladies and Gentlemen by Emma Donoghue at The Project Theatre , Dublin

• founding musical director of Dublin-based choir Gloria 1995-6

• original compositions for Gloria and many SATB arrangements, including She Moved Through the Fair, which has become a sought-after piece in the choral repertoire.

• arrangements for bands, vocal harmonies, brass arrangements

I am available for commissions in any creative venture. Contact me.

Teaching

Instruments

Saxophone
acquire a strong technical foundation as you explore musical possibilities

Jazz piano
ideally for those already with some technique who wish to learn to improvise.

Voice
voice development, breath work, release from blocks and tension, repertoire and improvisation. All styles.

Teaching method and content

• beginners – embark on a new adventure

• advanced – deepen your practice

• exams optional: ARBSM, RIAM, Junior and Leaving cert,

• classical, jazz, soul, funk, blues, world

• sight-reading, theory

• jazz harmony, improvisation, creativity and self-expression

• composition, songwriting

• mentoring young performers and songwriters

• informal classes

• lessons designed according to needs

• for further information and sample lesson plans click here

Venues

• Dublin city centre, Mondays and Tuesdays only, in the salon of a beautiful Georgian house, No.11 Nth Great Georges St.

• at my home, Blackstairs Courtyard, forty minutes from Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford and Wexford.

Fees and times

• fee €50 for a one hour class

• sliding scale between €40 and €50 for low waged and unemployed at the student's discretion.

• after the initial class I ask for four classes to be paid in advance

• cancellation policy: I require 24 hours notice, after which the class fee is payable in full

Approach

• I believe music making should be a creative and deeply enjoyable experience that contributes to our fullest sense of ourselves

• most people already have so much music in them. Part of a teacher's job is to provide the student with the keys to access what's already there

• every student is different, with different learning styles and needs

• I take a holistic approach that works with techniques for developing core internal power. I emphasize maximum control with minimum effort, incorporating principles from yoga, Alexander Technique and Tai Chi

• I help to prevent playing patterns from developing into RSI, sore throats and other stress injuries

Click here to listen to examples of my compositions and playing.

Intensives

For students who would like to combine a day or weekend intensive teaching and practising experience in a beautiful part of the country near Borris, Co Carlow, my home at Blackstairs Courtyard contains two self-contained cottages for guests. For price and teaching plan, contact me.

Testimonials from students

‘I'm now signed to Reekus Records and gigging regularly...and loving it! My debut album is set to be launched later this year. Thanks Carole!' Aoife Corcoran

‘Carole has demonstrated a deep well of patience and has shown great skill in developing my appreciation of jazz, and has also extended my playing to classical music.'  Dave Fadden

‘I think she would be equally comfortable with older adults like myself who tend to be slower learners with a need for individual attention and difficult learning styles, or with younger students whose gifts she would be well-equipped to develop.' Susan Boston

Biography

Music education

• studied classical piano from age 7 to 18 up to ARCM Performer's Diploma

• studied oboe to Grade 8

• Cambridge BA (social and political sciences) MA

• learned saxophone with American jazz saxophonist Mike McMullen

• voice teachers include Kevin Armstrong, Meredith Monk and Frankie Armstrong

Early professional life 1980-90

• session pianist with London artists including Carol Grimes and Jan Ponsford

• performed and recorded with own bands, the Spoilsports and the Moonlighters

• musical director for Sadista Sisters Theatre Company

• teacher at Rose Bruford School of Music and Drama, London

• moved to Dublin 1985, working with bands, theatre and dance companies

• taught saxophone at Newpark Music Centre, Dublin for seven years.

Contact Carole Nelson info@carolenelsonmusic.com +353 59 972 5947 +353 87 912 1314