Getting Crazy with Zrazy - 1925 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News

Carole Nelson and Maria Walsh, who comprise the eye- and ear-catching Irish duo Zrazy,
were describing the tense start of their musical partnership when the story behind the story
emerged.

"We were playing for about a year when we realized that we were much better loving than fighting," Nelson said. She was
speaking literally: one evening after a show, the two made a spontaneous decision to follow the advice of their manager, who had
asked each of them separately, "When are you going to stop all of this squabbling and just go to bed together?"

That was more than 15 years ago, and their intimate relationship ended after six years. But the time Nelson and Walsh spent as
lovers has had a lasting effect on the career of Zrazy, which will perform at Nevin's Live in Evanston Oct. 26 and Star Gaze in
Chicago Oct. 27.

It was during their romantic involvement that Nelson helped nurture Walsh from an inwardly "unconfident" and outwardly
aggressive performer into the self-assured and touching vocalist she is today. And it was the end of their intimate relationship that
inspired Nelson to write two of the most recognized songs on Private Wars, Zrazy's highly acclaimed jazz CD: "Remember (That
You Did It First With Me)" and "Captured in a Song."

Another duo might shy away from such an intimate revelation--especially at this pivotal stage in Zrazy's career, when Private Wars
is being rereleased in the United States as part of an effort to break into the mainstream jazz world.

But integrity is up there with talent and style on the list of reasons why Zrazy has earned respect from a wide range of experienced
listeners. Lofty praise for the duo comes from sources as diverse as former Diane Schuur producer Jeffrey Weber ("I love the
intensity and purity of the songs"), to Shirley Knight, producer of the Houston Women's Festival.

"Their music is diverse and heartfelt without being contrived or cliched," Knight says. "Not only do they put on a great show, but
also they are great people: easy-going, fun-loving, highly intelligent and completely comfortable with themselves."

Nelson and Walsh perform most frequently in Germany and Australia, but they make a point to tour the U.S. at least twice a year
on a schedule that always includes Chicago. A nominee of the 1999 Gay and Lesbian American Music Award for Best Out Song,
Zrazy has built much of its fan base through appearances at lesbian-identified festivals such as the Houston Women's Festival, the
Southern Womyn's Festival in Geoergia, the International Women's Music Festival, the Michigan Womyn's Festival and the
National Women's Music Festival in Indiana.

But the duo's appeal is hardly limited to females. Zrazy can hold its own alongside the type of entertainment often associated with
gay male listeners, says J.D. Doyle, an internet disc jockey whose monthly show on out GLBT musicians is featured on 125 radio
stations worldwide.

Doyle remembers seeing Zrazy perform in 2000 as the closing act for a male-dominated, cabaret-style show. "I've said many times
that none of the guys, as good as they were, could have followed them. They just knocked out the crowd."

Nelson and Walsh, both in long-term committed relationships, still sometimes interact in ways that resemble a long-term couple.
They've been known to finish each other's sentences, and enjoy relating how they often find themselves humming the same tune
without speaking a word. But they now are best friends and finely tuned musical collaborators, who are reluctant to talk about their
own individual talents but pleased to describe each other's.

Walsh revels in finding the words for Nelson's musicianship: responsive, alive, lyrical, "sweet and forceful at the same time. I love
when Carole goes into wild piano," she continues. "She can improvise into any sphere."

"There is still something in the quality of Maria's voice that I haven't heard in any other," Nelson says. "She finds an extraordinarily
painful and vulnerable place in herself, and (is) brave enough to reveal that."

The jazz sound of Private Wars has drawn much the same comments from reviewers; one praised Nelson's "amazingly emotional
saxophone," and another described Walsh's voice as "oozing with hurt and experience, not asking but demanding that you watch
and listen."

Unlike Private Wars, which features mellow jazz tunes and lyrics universal to all sexualities and genders, Zrazy's first two CDs
(Permanent Happiness and Give It All Up) were heavy on digital programming, club beats, and gay-identified lyrics.

Zrazy's earlier songs remain an integral part of their live show, and the duo maintains its identification with gay and lesbian fans
through venues like a recent "National Coming Out Day" show in Columbus with Catie Curtis, and a stint at Provincetown's
Women's Week.

The duo has never considered trying to distance itself from its original fan base of gays and lesbians, says Nelson. "That would be
like using something just while you need it. It would be like turning turning our heads and delivering a big slap in the face to every
gay and lesbian person."

But achieving success in the mainstream jazz world is important to the two women for several reasons--chief among them, the
opportunity for more creative freedom.

"There's a political reason, too," Walsh adds. "It's important, it's good for out lesbians to be welcomed by the mainstream, and
regarded and respected. I think our listeners and fan base would want that, too."

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985