Nicole Zuraitis created siren songs volume 1 with a clear purpose in mind: Celebrate women songwriters. It’s a concept she’d been thinking about for years. Her own success as a songwriter made the project even more timely: in 2024, she became the first artist, man or woman, to win Best Jazz Vocal Album at the GRAMMYs for a project of entirely original music and arrangements — her LP How Love Begins.

Siren songs honors a handful of the greatest women writers in American music history. Peggy Lee. Bobby Gentry. Joni Mitchell. Melanie Safka. Brenda Rusell. Patty Griffin. Billie Eilish. “I know a lot of these songwriters,” Zuraitis says. “Personally, I look up to them, and it's an honor to sing their music.” Song after song, Zuraitis and her band allow you to hear iconic material with fresh ears. Everything is improvised, with arrangements made on the spot and each track done in one take — a huge testament to the skill and brilliance of Zuraitis (piano, in addition to vocals) and her ensemble of Idan Morim (guitar), Sam Weber (bass), and Dan Pugach (drums).