Vocalist Michelle Nicolle's "THE SILENT WISH"

Australian jazz vocalist and songwriter MICHELLE NICOLLE travelled halfway across the world to Los Angeles to record her latest album, THE SILENT WISH, with guitar master LARRY KOONSE -- but she’s very accustomed to travelling far and wide as a touring artist. Besides performing throughout Australia, she has sung extensively at jazz festivals and clubs in Asia, Europe, and the U.S. It was on one of her tours to California where she met Koonse, whose playing impressed her so much that she decided to step out of her comfort zone and record her first duo project. THE SILENT WISH is also her first project to be released in the USA.

Nicolle grew up in a small town in the Barossa Valley, a famous wine producing region. Although no one in her family played an instrument, she fell in love with music when she was just eight years old and began studying violin in school. As she got older, she taught herself how to play piano, played cornet in a marching band, and sang in school musicals. 

At the University of Adelaide, she sang in jazz groups and earned a Bachelor of Education degree and an Associate Diploma of Jazz. After graduating, she began building a career in Australia, winning acclaim and numerous awards, including the Music Victoria Award (2024), Bell Award (2017), Mo Award 2001, 2003 & 2004, National Jazz Award (1998), and was an A.R.I.A. Finalist (Australian ‘Grammy’s’ equivalent) in 2001, 2004, and 2009. Nicolle moved to Melbourne in 1995 to pursue greater performance opportunities and has built a dedicated following. She’s held a 17-year weekly residency at the popular music venue, Brunswick Green. Nicolle is also an experienced educator and currently teaches voice, improvisation and small jazz ensemble at the University of Melbourne and Monash University.

THE SILENT WISH is Nicolle’s 11th album. The Weekend Australian said "If there's such a phenomenon as the perfect jazz singer, Michelle Nicolle is far and away my choice." The Sydney Morning Herald said “an Australian jazz singer ready to command a world stage.” Australia’s Radio National said of her performances, “Nicely audacious, full of wit, sometimes very tender. Hugely playful, vibrant, inventive, interactive, intimate, schlock free but warm hearted.” 

An arranger and band leader, Nicolle produced most of her albums with her band, The MN Quartet. The band has been together for 26 years, but this time around she wanted to try something new. She says, “I really love vocal and guitar duos like Ella and Joe Pass, or Tuck & Patti. After making 10 albums with of my band, I really wanted to stretch out and be more adventurous. There’s nowhere to hide in a duo of voice and guitar and the first time I heard Larry play, I knew he was my cup of tea. His incredible musicianship and loveliness as a human creates the beautiful combination of exciting, surprising with cozy, real sympatico when we play together.” 

Koonse is one of the most respected musicians in Southern California. He has been featured on over 400 albums with many well-known jazz artists including Cleo Laine, Al Hirt, Jimmy Rowles, Bob Brookmeyer, Luciana Souza, Lee Konitz, Larry Goldings, Mel Torme, Alan Broadbent, and Ray Brown. His empathy and creativity make a perfect pairing with Nicolle’s soulful interpretations and creative scat solos.

THE SILENT WISH comprises eight standards plus one song from a New Zealand pop band and one song penned by Nicolle, who is also a prolific composer. She sets the mood for the album with the opening track, “When Your Lover Has Gone.” Nicolle’s voice is reminiscent of a singer from an earlier era while Koonse’s mysterious intro begins the conversation between voice and guitar.

“I Hope I Never” was a huge hit in Australia by the group Split Enz in the 80s. Nicolle’s plaintive interpretation and Koonse’s three guitar tracks beautifully capture the song’s aching lyric. Nicolle says she waited 20 years to find the right person with whom to record “I'm Glad There Is You,” because of an experience she had with a fan. She explains, “A gentle and soft-spoken Vietnam veteran, who had lost his wife the year before. A few weeks before my drummer husband and I married, he handed me an envelope at the end of our show. It was a wedding gift. A check for $1500 and carefully handwritten lyric of this song, and a note saying that our wedding date was also his wife’s birthday, and hoped we would enjoy even a fraction of the happiness they had shared.”  

Nicolle composed “Putting It Off,” a song she says is about her “superpower,” which is procrastination. The lyric talks about making excuses for not taking risks and finding reasons to keep the status quo in her personal and professional life. The song is mostly improvised and features an extended scat solo. Nicolle originally wrote an arrangement for “With a Song in My Heart” for her quartet as a waltz with a key change in every chorus. She says, “As a duo, without the security of bass and drums, navigating and improvising through these musical markers makes for a fun ride! Larry’s energy feeds mine, and mine his, whilst enhancing the joy of the lyric.”

Nicolle’s favorite version of “My One and Only Love” is Rickie Lee Jones’ performance on Pop Pop. John Leftwich, the producer and engineer for THE SILENT WISH, coincidentally played bass on that album. She says, “Having John engineer and produce me and Larry playing this hugely emotional and beautifully composed song was overwhelming.” The harmony of “All the Things You Are” is hugely complex, because the key center moves every 4 bars. Nicolle says, “It’s a bloody difficult song, and that’s why jazz musicians love it. But the lyric tells a heartfelt story, and the verse is gorgeous. We really stretched out on this song but never lost sight of the lyric.”

Koonse lays down a gorgeous, buoyant nylon string rhythm track with Michelle live and then another counter-melodic track to add another layer of loveliness on “Only Trust Your Heart”. For Nicolle, the challenge on “Gone with the Wind” was keeping the integrity of the story while creating a groove and energy. The inspiration for this project and also the title for the album, the lyrics to “What Are Doing the Rest of Your Life?” are so lucid and intense that it actually made Nicolle cry when singing it. You can hear the catch in her voice towards the end. 

After a career spanning more than 30 years singing with a band, Nicolle was looking for a path to energize her creativity and push herself into unknown vocal territory. Performing with Koonse was just the inspiration she was looking for, and THE SILENT WISH is a gorgeous project by two masters of their art.

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TRACKS

1. When Your Lover Has Gone 4:11 

2. I Hope I Never 4:36 

3. I'm Glad There Is You 3:39

4. Putting It Off 4:38

5. With A Song In My Heart 4:05

6. My One And Only Love 4:33

7. All The Things You Are 4:10 

8. Only Trust You Heart 3:44 

9. Gone With The Wind 4:52

10. What Are You Doing Rest Of Your Life 3:38 

THE SILENT WISH released today, March 7, 2025 and is Bandcamp and on all streaming platforms. 

WATCH THIS VIDEO: "What Are You Doing the Rest of your Life?"

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