For as long as she can remember, jazz bassist and singer-songwriter Nicole Saphos has always gotten lost in the elegant emotionality of The Great American Songbook. Upon graduating from Temple University in 2012, the Los Angeles native relocated to DC, and began her professional music career in earnest. To date, she’s performed at such venerated venues as The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Strathmore Mansion, and The Kimmel Center, among others. In 2012, she formed her own trio, which has coalesced around drummer Ele Rubenstein and guitarist John Lee. Downbeat Magazine describes her as a “distinctive & warm presence on the bandstand”. In Fall 2016, Saphos released her critically acclaimed debut album, Tiptoe.
“Technically formidable and immensely communicative, her performances grab you by the ear and refuse to let you go, which is keenly exhibited on her breathtaking debut album Tiptoe”. -Raul de Gama, Jazz Sensibilities
In the short time since the release of Tiptoe, Saphos has been vigorously writing and recording music for her next project, Buzz & Bloom; a collection of seven original songs in a style reminiscent of Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor and Nellie McKay. The Buzz & Bloom EP is supported in part by funding from Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and is being released on March 30 with Local Woman Records.
As for her inspiration for this EP, Saphos reveals, “I first came across the phrase ‘buzz and bloom’ in an Adrienne Rich poem, and it struck me as a beautifully succinct way of describing my own creative process. In the early stages of writing, I tend to be consumed with scattered energy and a nagging sense of personal and creative urgency. I’ve come to (somewhat) affectionately identify this angsty feeling as ‘buzz’. The ‘bloom’ is a result of all of that energy once it settles, and I can channel it into music”.
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