THE RACHEL Z JAZZ TRIO

AS far away as the jazz mecca of Greenwich Village is, the fearless and spontaneous improv-playing of the ber-talented Rachel Z will make it feel a lot closer at the Jazz Bar tonight.

The Manhattan-born pianist, real name Rachel Nicolazzo, is that rare thing on a scene in which the men outnumber the woman by at least ten to one – she's a special girl who has developed her own style, and won the respect of her peers for having done so.

Over the years she has worked with Mike Mainieri, Lenny White and Al Di Meola, and toured with Peter Gabriel.

If she specialises in anything, it's the unpredictable, but she's also a marketable jazz vocalist, covering songs by Bjork, Kurt Cobain, Kate Bush and John Lennon.

Inspired by trips to the Metropolitan Opera with her parents, she began playing piano at seven, but her over-indulgent improvisations of Mozart only earned her a whack on the wrist from her piano teacher's ruler.

"My mother was an opera singer and I began singing," she says. "I went to the New England Conservatory and graduated from New England and played in a band with George Garzone and then I moved to New York and I played with Steps Ahead and that is how I got started."

She started looking for solo gigs around NYC, but that found bookings tough to come by in the Big Apple's male-dominated jazz scene.

Not that she had any choice but to persevere, as she explains, "My mom and dad wouldn't let me get a day job, so I had no choice because they didn't give me money either and so I had to go out and first find a gig at the Marriott and then I hired the guys. I hired the best musicians that I could.

"The problem I had getting gigs was that no one would hire me because I was a girl," she continues. "Girls sort of aren't allowed to be any good.

"You can't go through your terrible stages of growth and there is a little less forgiving because the guys get embarrassed having a lame girl in the band. It is like their macho thing, which I understand, but it affected my macho thing because I didn't want any girls that couldn't play in my band. I didn't want girls around me.

"I was very detached from the female community coming up. I was really into being one of the guys, which is I guess how I ended up playing fusion, a sort of macho music," she adds.

Now that she has established herself as someone who can give the boys a run for their money, she doesn't find NYC quite so competitive.

"Now, I don't notice it," she says. "I'm not competing with my music at all. I finally got to a trio and I really love them as people and I have been with them a long time – like five years. I trust them musically and we're all trying to learn and do the same thing together."

And what a trio it is – playing with Nicolazzo tonight are gifted young bassist Maeve Royce and world-famous sticksman Omar Hakim, who has worked with jazz legend Miles Davis and did most of the drum work on Dire Straits' album Brothers in Arms.

There's no doubt about her credentials, then, so all that's left to ask is what the 'z' in her name stands for.

"Mike Mainieri gave me the name because he said that the Nicolazzo s*** would drive me crazy, and that I would have to spell it on every interview," she laughs.

"He was sort of right, the 'z' kind of made it easier."

Rachel Z Trio, The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street, tonight, 8pm, 12 (10), 0131-220 4298

My Edinburgh

Pat Hymers is festival administrator of the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Next week, however, you can find him playing The Narrator in Edinburgh Peoples Theatre's production of Cider With Rosie

Date of Birth: 31/10/62

If you had a time machine which Edinburgh concert would you relive?

The Homecoming gig in the Usher Hall, what a line up.

What is your favourite Edinburgh theatre?

Royal Lyceum for sustained quality of the work. I have been a season ticket holder for years.

Who would you choose to headline Edinburgh's Hogmanay?

It has to be the Proclaimers again – I do live and work in Leith after all.

Name three regular haunts in the Capital that you could not live without.

Bijou Bistro in Leith, Victoria pub in Leith Walk and, of course, the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Separated at birth: Edinburgh and . . . ?

It has got to be Florence.

Who or what in Edinburgh inspires you?

Anyone who has to walk up The Mound every morning.

Do you think the city is a friendly place to live?

Almost as friendly as Leith.

Car, bike or bus – how do you get around town?

Bike and bus, it's so easy.

Come August do you love the Festival or loathe it?

Love it. The whole city comes alive. It might kill me if it was like that for the whole year, but for four weeks I can handle it.

If you couldn't be in Edinburgh, where else would you rather be?

Melbourne, it has the same mix of culture, warmth and atmosphere.

Princes Street or George Street?

George Street.

If we elected our Lord Provost, who would you like in the position?

David Tennant as Doctor Who, it would liven things up no end.

What's the biggest change you've seen in the city?

The buzz. There seems to be so much more going on now than there used to be.

When away from home what do you most miss about Edinburgh?

The bacon rolls, they are just not the same.

Could you recommend a restaurant?

Bijou in Leith, incredible value for a restaurant with a chef who has been on Masterchef: The Professionals.

Name one attraction no visitor to the city should miss.

I have to say the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

Sell Edinburgh to a stranger in no more than ten words.

Name another city in the world with a view like that from its main street.

Cider With Rosie, Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, Wed-Sat, 7.30pm, 9, 0131-668 2019