Rachel Carmel Hakim (née Nicolazzo), better known as Rachel Z, is an American jazz and rock pianist and keyboardist. She has recorded 13 albums as a leader and jazz musician. Her musical style, especially her improvisation, has been described as adjacent to Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner. Career In 1999, Hakim was a part of a jazz fusion project by Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. The project, entitled Vertú, also featured such artists as Karen Briggs on violin and Richie Kotzen on guitar and resulted in an album of the same name that year. Read more on