Nikki Iles
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, playing piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
.
Iles was born in Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, her parents both musicians (her father a drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
and her mother a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
). She started her musical education at primary school, where she learnt to play the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and at eleven years old she won a junior exhibition at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, where she studied clarinet and piano (1974–1981). She became a member of the Bedfordshire Youth Jazz Orchestra. As a result of her increasing involvement with jazz, she went on to the Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music, located in Leeds’ Quarry Hill cultural quarter, is the largest music college in the United Kingdom, with over 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time students. The college is best known for its leading role in jazz education and started one of the first jazz degrees in Europe...
to study alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and piano (1981–1984).
She joined former husband Richard Iles
Richard Iles
Richard Iles is a trumpet player and jazz composer. As a member of the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, he gained valuable experience in jazz...
' group Emanon
Emanon
Emanon are an American hip hop duo consisting of Singer and Rapper Aloe Blacc and Producer Exile. They are based in Los Angeles, California.-Career:...
(R. Iles trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, Mike Walker guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Iain Dixon saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
). The members were also all founder members of the Creative Jazz Orchestra, alongside Vince Mendoza
Vince Mendoza
Vince Mendoza is a music arranger and composer.Mendoza was born in Connecticut and studied guitar as a child, influenced by classical music, soul and jazz. He then took up the trumpet, which he continued to play throughout his time at Ohio State University, where he played in the Jazz Ensemble and...
, Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
, Mike Gibbs
Michael Gibbs (jazz composer)
Michael Clement Irving Gibbs is a jazz composer, conductor, arranger and producer as well as a trombonist and keyboardist....
, Kenny Wheeler
Kenny Wheeler
Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s....
and Mark Anthony Turnage. Iles also began playing with several London-based bands, such as Steve Argüelles
Steve Argüelles
Steve Argüelles is an English jazz drummer, producer and is the boss of the record label . He has also worked in film and theatre. He is the elder brother of saxophonist Julian Argüelles...
' group, Mick Hutton's Straight Face, Stan Sulzmann
Stan Sulzmann
Stanley Ernest Sulzmann is an English jazz saxophonist.Sulzmann began on saxophone at age 13 and played in Bill Ashton's London Youth Jazz Orchestra, later the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music from 1969-1972...
's quartet, and Tina May
Tina May
Tina May is an English female jazz vocalist who has recorded several albums on the 33 Records label, born in Gloucester, U.K.. She lived in Frampton-on-Severn when she was young, and attended Stroud High School. Her ex-husband, Clark Tracey, appears on most of her albums for the label. May has...
.
Iles won the 1996 John Dankworth Special Award at the BT Jazz Festival.
Iles is senior lecturer at Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
, and has taught at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music, located in Leeds’ Quarry Hill cultural quarter, is the largest music college in the United Kingdom, with over 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time students. The college is best known for its leading role in jazz education and started one of the first jazz degrees in Europe...
, the Guildhall School of Music, and in Bulgaria, Holland, France, and Finland. She also runs training workshops for the Associated Board (Jazz syllabus and is a tutor for the National Youth Jazz Collective.
Discography
- 1992: Pyrotechnics — Sylvan Richardson with Mike Walker and Julian Arguelles (Blue Note)
- 1994: By The Way — Mike Gibbs Orchestra (Ah Hum)
- 1994: Treasure Trove — Stan Sulzmann/Nikki Iles (ASC)
- 1997: The Tan Tien — Martin Speake/Nikki Iles (FMR)
- 1998: Change of Sky — Tina May/Nikki Iles (33 Jazz)
- 1998: Snap — Foolish Hearts (Iles, Steve Berry, Paul Clarvis, and Anthony Kerr) (rfm101)
- 1999: Secret Moves — Dick Walter/Jazz Craft Ensemble (ASC CD29)
- 1999: Don't Ask — Geoff SimkinsGeoff SimkinsGeoff Simkins is a British jazz musician who plays alto saxophone.-Career:Geoff Simkins started playing jazz in his early teens. His first instrument was drums, but he quickly changed to the alto saxophone...
quartet (Simkins, Iles, Simon Woolf, and Martin France) (Symbol SR19991201) - 1999: One Fine Day — Tina May Group (May, Iles, Alan Barnes, and Mick Hutton) (33Jazz 50)
- 2000: Secret Anglo-Canadian Project — Iles, Martin Speake, Anthony Michelli, and Duncan Hopkins (Basho Records SR CD3-2)
- 2001: Some Times — Ingrid Laubrock Group (Candid CCD7977)
- 2003: Romancing — Scott HamiltonScott Hamilton (musician)Scott Hamilton is a jazz tenor saxophonist, born in 1954 and associated with swing and mainstream jazz.-Biography:He emerged in the 1970s and at the time he was considered to be one of the few musicians of real talent who carried the tradition of the classic jazz tenor saxophone in the style of...
and The Tina May Quartet (Linn Records AKD202) - 2003: Veils — Nikki Iles Quintet (Symbol)
- 2004: Everything I Love Nikki Iles Trio (Basho Records SRCD 5-2)