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The Whole Short Story
Nick is a Los Angeles born, San Pedro local, Sax Player, Composer, and an 8 time Emmy Nominee. After picking up the clarinet when he was 11 he just couldn’t stop. From his days attending the Berklee College of Music and after, he went on to release 6 albums over the last 20 years.
Out of those 6 albums, a large number of songs have appeared on the radio, in films, comedy DVD’s, television, and even over the PA system at LAX. A standout from his album “Uncertainty” was placed in the opening montage (and in its entirety) of the hit comedy special Katt Williams Live! “Happy Hour” from his second release The Third Date crept up to No. 43 on the Jazz radio charts as well and was seemingly popping up everywhere Smooth Jazz is welcomed…including the various Terminals at LAX!
In 2008 he joined the hit band from the 1980’s Naked Eyes, (whose hits include “Always Something There to Remind Me” and “Promises Promises”), which he played with off and on until 2020. Along the way it led to some amazing and epic performances with other greats from the 1980's including Wang Chung and Haircut 100. He's also provided sax work for a wide variety of bands in different genres from Punk Rock to Alt Rock like Billy Bones and Mondo Cozmo.
Nick has written and produced songs for other artists and in many different genres and mediums. A standout from 2015, Nick worked with punk rock legend, Billy Bones (The Skulls) on “All Night Rocker” which was featured in a documentary on the famed rocker himself and became a mainstay on Rodney on the Rock’s radio show (KROQ) for more than 12 weeks in 2015.
Nick has been simultaneously composing music for various film projects, commercials and TV Shows for quite a long time now. He loves how it's able to connect all of his creative impulses into an area where there are almost no rules governing the music. It’s a place where emotion and feel drive everything and he compares it to attempting to solve a really large emotional puzzle. It just feels so rewarding to finish a scene and see it come to life in real-time as he works. Growing up in a Film/Television family and with his extensive background in Jazz, Pop and Rock N Roll, the idea of breaking boundaries though an audio visual medium is exactly where Nick wants to live. When he had his first music placement in Katt’s Williams’ first live DVD, it became a pivotal moment. “Uncertainly” is an a cappella sax solo and once laid over a scene depicting a civil rights riot in Columbus Ohio in the 1960’s, he saw first hand how his music could play a role to drive a scene. Hearing the sound of his own saxophone driving the emotion of that intense montage made a light go on for him. It was then when Nick realized he needed to drive his music career into this direction where he can emote, create and help tell a story, and with all of his projects. They needed to have a message.
Last year in particular, 2024 was a banner year for Nick encompassing everything he loves to do. He finished his EP and released a ton of new Smooth Jazz music. Nick scored his first feature film, an LA bases Noir movie with tons of Jazz for Director Ryan Curtis. It’s called “Hollywood Grit” and stars Max Martini, Tyrese Gibson, Patrick Duffy, Linda Purl and many other notable actors. It’s set for release this year in 2025 and the excitement is building for that on so many levels!
Nick composed music for a Rom-Com TV Pilot set in/shot in Argentina for Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes called “Yanqui” that was an extraordinary opportunity to create some Tango inspired quirky, funky White Lotus-esc sounding tracks. Nick is really proud of the theme song for this and it can be found on the Discography on this site. As “Yanqui”made it’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Nick hopped on a tour bus and went on the road with Haircut 100 for their first tour in the USA after 40 years of hibernation! It was a momentous occasion for the band to reunite for a tour with ABC and Howard Jones and complete honor for Nick to perform the iconic horn lines and solos from their hit record Pelican West. It’s this mix of doing writing, producing, performing and touring that fills Nick with complete gratitude. He really is living the dream he manifested as an 11 year old boy, thinking about the future while learning the clarinet.
What’s next for Nick? He would love to explore a new stage in his career that includes sharing his music with fans at Jazz Festivals around the world, record and release more music and take on more Film and Media projects as a composer. Follow Nick on his socials or join the email list to take part in his ongoing music journey.