Nick Z is a folk-soul troubadour who blends the sound of laid-back acoustic guitar accompaniment much like Jason Mraz with a more R&B-favored vocal style. Z is a native San Diegan and his debut disc, Live at the Red Vic, captures a performance at a San Francisco club in the summer of 2008.

The music on this disc was written by Z and Nick Marcotte, who wrote the lyrics for seven of the 11 tunes. Z's singing is soulful, mostly in the upper register, and will bring to mind a sort of unplugged version of Stevie Wonder with some moments of hip-hop style phrasing. His guitar playing and compositional-vocal style on some of the tunes recalls Jack Johnson's sleepy, beach-sand and sunglasses, slap and strum shuffles, without the reggae feel but with more vocal resonance.

"What I'm Dreaming About" is the opener, showcasing Z's strength - his voice. The tune has a soaring chorus and he hits the top end with no problem, singing behind the beat and mixing in occasional spoken lyrics. The next tune, "Late One Night," greatly resembles "Dreaming" and is about Java Joe's in Ocean Beach. "Hollywood Glance" makes an impression as a catchy melody. This tune escapes the repetitive use of jazzy minor chords with dropping bass lines for a full, major chord, R&B counterpoint. "Next Saturday" is a disappointment that illustrates why Z shouldn't write his own lyrics, a forgettable exercise in profanity about a hangover. There are multiple local points of reference in Marcotte's lexicon about "Me and Mr Nick Z," including San Diego State, Java Joe's again, along with invocation of various MCs, singers, clubs, and singing styles. Though this song is like listening to Jack Johnson rap, it is not unpleasant. "Anything You Say," about cigarettes and San Francisco's homeless, is interesting and different as an almost spoken-word verse with a catchy chorus. Next up, "Unexpected Sunshine" is the clear gem on the disc, an irresistibly catchy pop-style song that combines a great hook, upbeat lyrics, and a perfect delivery. "Inner Sunset" and "Gypsy MC Fool" are two of the four tunes for which Z wrote his own lyrics, and again he lets himself down. "Sunset" is about a "player at a party" that the listener won't care about, and while "Gypsy" has an interesting melody, it would be a better song if not about being a "wannabe gypsy MC fool." Things improve on "Nine to Five" (with Z again writing the words, doing much better). The tune works very well and is a highlight. This song is brisk, with lots of falsetto and good guitar playing. Z wraps things up with a loose jazz feel on "Here to Stay," an intriguing run-through about the Bay area.

Nick Z has a great set of pipes. His approach works quite well on most of the material here and there are some good moments on Live at the Red Vic especially for fans of soul troubadours.