Nick Vayenas

Trombone, Composer

Applauded by the great trombonist Hal Crook for beginning to reinvent the trombone, Nick Vayenas is a consummate talent: open-minded, professional, technically facile, melodic, and harmonically advanced.  Placing importance on honesty in music, Nick does not pigeonhole styles, and is equally influenced by all genres.  Sincerity has given Nick the freedom to be himself. This clearly emotes to the listener. 

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Nick started playing the trombone at the age of twelve. He comically recalls that his arm was too short to reach the lower positions of the instrument; I was the worst student in the class because the instrument was as big as I was. This quickly changed. After discovering jazz and listening to extensive recordings in high school, Nick rapidly excelled on his instrument.   Trombonist J.J. Johnson with his incredible tone, amazing technique and ability to play modern jazz, became an immediate and lasting influence that brought Nicks thinking to a new level. He showed me what is possible when you free yourself of restrictions, Nick reflects.  It was at this point that Nick decided to pursue a career in music, subsequently receiving a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music.

Berklee proved to be an enlightening experience.  Exposed to different musicians from across the country and around the world, Nick formed lasting friendships and gained valuable contacts during that time.  At the end of his four years, Nick headed to New York City to continue his education at the Manhattan School of Music, graduating in 2001 with a Master of Music degree in jazz performance.

The spring of 2001 brought Nick yet another opportunity to continue to hone his skills and develop as a complete performer when he was accepted into the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Selected by Terence Blanchard (the artistic director), Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, Nick joined six other talented musicians in a two-year full-scholarship program. He received personal attention from jazz masters such as Dave Holland, John Scofield, Lewis Nash, Mark Turner and Blanchard. The Monk Institute Ensemble (MIE) performed extensively in 2002, most notably at the Umbria Jazz Festival, St. Lucia Jazz Festival, the Cleveland Jazz Festival, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.  In their final year, the MIE recorded an album of its member’s finest compositions and arrangements, featuring Hancock, Shorter, and Blanchard.  

Since 2003, Nick has been touring with the multi-platinum selling Warner Brothers recording artist, vocalist Michael Buble. Buble’s band has traveled extensively throughout the world, performing in such venues as the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Town Hall and the Radio City in New York City, Massey Hall in Toronto, and Royal Albert Hall in London.

Although touring with Michael has kept him busy, Nick continues to pursue and maintain his own musical identity.  2007 welcomes the recording and release (due out February 2008 on World Culture Music) of Nick`s solo album, Synesthesia. “I want my album to have an overall cohesiveness and sound that ties it together.  All the music on the record will be connected in some way.”  This recording will undoubtedly reveal Nick in his element as a true artist.

 Of this exciting and unforgettable talent, Blanchard says, “I continue to wait and watch what he will do next [Nick is] a person who will redefine the role of the trombone not only in small ensemble playing, but also in the way we perceive the instrument in the musical community.”