A gifted pianist and composer, Rachel Z began taking voice lessons at the age of two, and five years later took up the piano. She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1984 and in 1988 relocated to New York and joined Steps Ahead, remaining with them until 1996. She has performed with Angela Bofill, Larry Coryell, Al Di Meola, and worked with Wayne Shorter on his Grammy-winning HIGH LIFE (1995). Her solo effort, ON THE MILKY WAY EXPRESS: A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF WAYNE SHORTER, was released in 2000. MOON AT THE WINDOW (2002), an album of Joni Mitchell covers, was followed by EVERLASTING (2004) and GRACE (2005), featuring thoughtful reworkings of a diverse range of pop material, the latter was the artist’s first vocal album.