Nicki arrived in New York in May 1994 on an Arts Council grant from Australia to study with the internationally acclaimed bassist, Rufus Reid. Since June 2000, Nicki has played on Monday nights at the Iridium Jazz Club with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. Nicki and her sister, Lisa Parrott headlined at the prestigious Tribute to Mary Lou Williams festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in May 2002, which was broadcast on National Public Radio. She is also the resident bassist with the Kitchen House Blend which premieres and performs new music by New York composers.
Since coming to New York she has performed with such notable musicians as Clark Terry, Michel Legrand, Billy Taylor, Dick Hyman, Terri Thornton, Holly Hoffman, Diva, Marlena Shaw, Monica Mancini, Patrice Rushen, Skitch Henderson, the New York Pops Orchestra, Florida Pops Orchestra, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Warren Vache, Jr., Harry Allen, Red Holloway, Rebecca Paris, Kenny Davern, José Feliciano, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Bernard Purdie, John Tropea, David Krakauer, Howard Alden, Randy Sandke, Greg Osby, Jack Wilkins, Ken Peplowski, Johnny Frigo, Joe Wilder, Houston Person, Wycliffe Gordon, Rachel Z and Johnny Varro. Nicki has also performed in several Broadway shows such as Avenue Q, Imaginary Friends, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Summer of '42 and Jekyll and Hyde.
Nicki has performed at such major festivals in the USA as the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Jazz in July at the 92nd Street Y, Litchfield Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Overseas, she has performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Cully Lavaux and the Ascona and Berne Jazz Festivals in Switzerland, the Edinburgh and Grimsby Jazz Festivals in the UK, the Krakow Music Festival in Poland, the Ottawa Jazz Festival in Canada, and various Australian festivals.
Background
Born in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki started her musical training with the piano at the age of four, and soon after took up the flute as well. She continued to play flute and piano throughout her school years, but switched to double bass at the age of 15 because her sister Lisa, who plays alto sax, wanted a bassist for her group. After completing high school, Nicki moved to Sydney to study jazz at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and shortly after began to play with well-known Australian musicians such as Mike Nock, Dale Barlow, Paul Grabowsky, Bernie McGann, and Ten Part Invention. She also toured Australia with Russian musicians Daniel Kramer and Alexander Fischer and American trumpeters Bobby Shew and Chuck Findley.
Nicki studied with various bassists in Australia, and when visiting bassists such as Ray Brown and John Clayton were in town, Nicki would take a lesson with them. She is also the recipient of two awards, the first being a scholarship to Pan Pacific Music Camps at the age of 16, and first place in the 1992 Jazz Action Society’s Annual Song Competition for her composition "Come and Get It", which is the opening track of Nicki and Lisa’s debut CD. She was also nominated for the annual Australian Young Achievers Award by the Arts Council of Australia who granted her the funds to head to New York to study with Rufus Reid.
www.nickiparrott.com
Blue Christmas
Nicki Parrott Lyrics
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I'll be so blue just thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same dear, if you're not here with me
And when those blue snowflakes start falling
That's when those blue memories start calling
You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white
You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white,
But I'll have a blue, blue, blue blue Christmas
The aforementioned lyrics are from the song Blue Christmas, originally sung by Elvis Presley and covered by Nicki Parrott. The song is a sentimental ballad that has become a Christmas classic over time, and it tells the tale of a man who will spend Christmas without his significant other. The song's lyrics, filled with imagery and vivid descriptions, convey a deep feeling of desolation and loneliness as the man longs for his significant other.
The opening lines "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you, I'll be so blue just thinking about you" express a sense of emptiness and sorrow, as the man tries to cope with the reality of spending Christmas alone. The line "decorations of red on a green Christmas tree, won't be the same dear, if you're not here with me" paints a vivid picture of a traditional Christmas scene, but it's bittersweet because it's missing the most important element: the man's beloved partner.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the theme of loneliness and heartache, as the man acknowledges that his significant other will be doing fine, having a Christmas of white. However, he will have a Blue Christmas, represented by the blue snowflakes that remind him of his sadness and the blue memories that keep calling him back to his lost love. The song's powerful emotion is expressed through its lyrics, setting the stage for a poignant Christmas season.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll have a Blue Christmas without you
Christmas will not be the same without you
I'll be so blue just thinking about you
I will feel sad and melancholic just thinking of you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
The decorations on the Christmas tree will be the same as always
Won't be the same dear, if you're not here with me
But the celebration won't be the same if you aren't present here with me
And when those blue snowflakes start falling
As the blue snowflakes start to fall from the sky
That's when those blue memories start calling
That's when I remember all the past memories that made me blue
You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white
You will be okay with your white Christmas
But I'll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas
But I'll still feel sad and blue throughout the Christmas
Contributed by Dominic C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anonymous
I'm Glad There Is You - Nicki Parrott - Lyrics
Said I many times, love is an illusion,
A feeling, result of confusion.
With knowing smile and blaise sigh,
A cynical so-and-so was I!
I feel so secure, so positive,
So utterly unchangingly certain,
That I never was aware of loving you
Till suddenly I realized there was love and you,
And all;
In this world of ordinary people,
Extraordinary people,
I'm glad there is you.
In this world of overrated pleasures,
And underrated treasures,
I'm so glad there is you.
I live to love,
I love to live
With you beside me.
This road so new
I'll muddle through
With you to guide me.
In this world where many many play at love,
And hardly any stay in love,
I'm glad there is you.
More than ever,
I'm glad there is you.
Musical Interlude
In this world where many many play at love,
And hardly any stay in love,
I'm glad there is you.
More than ever,
I'm glad there is you.