Nikki Iles

Born on 16 May 1963 in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England, Iles began playing harmonica and clarinet during her primary-school years. At eleven she earned a Junior Exhibitioner’s Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where piano and clarinet became her principal studies; membership in the Bedfordshire Youth Jazz Orchestra soon followed, after which she chose piano as her main instrument. In 1981 she entered Leeds College of Music, graduating three years later and establishing herself in Yorkshire. She joined the ensemble Emanon, directed by trumpeter Richard Iles—her husband at the time—gaining opportunities to present her own compositions. Guitarist Mike Walker and saxophonist Iain Dixon were fellow members, and all three also belonged to the Creative Jazz Orchestra, an affiliation that brought collaborations with Anthony Braxton, Mike Gibbs, Kenny Wheeler and others. Additional work came through several London groups led by Steve Argüelles and Mick Hutton, as well as duo appearances alongside Stan Sulzmann. Frequent travel between the capital and northern England positioned her as a sought-after accompanist for visiting British and American artists including Iain Ballamy, Teddy Edwards, Art Farmer, Scott Hamilton, Peter King, Dick Morrissey and Jim Mullen.

The 1996 John Dankworth Special Award at the BT British Jazz Awards marked an early milestone; subsequent duo recordings included The Tan Tien with Martin Speake and Change Of Sky with Tina May. A serious car accident following an evening performance abruptly ended her commuting routine and prompted a permanent move to London. By then she had already taught at York University, Leeds College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music; she next accepted a senior lectureship at Middlesex University. International teaching engagements took her to Bulgaria, the Netherlands, France and Finland, while summer schools in England, France and Wales provided further outlets. Among her commissioned works are the Printmakers Suite for the Creative Jazz Orchestra, In All My Holy Mountain for New Perspectives (with poet Roger Garfitt) and the 1999 London Sinfonietta Ellington Celebrations.

Beyond performance, composition and pedagogy, Iles contributed to a project at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music that produced a new series of graded examinations for jazz horns, introduced in June 2003. In the late 1990s and early 2000s her performing schedule encompassed tours, concerts and recordings with Julian Argüelles, the Perfect Houseplants, Wheeler and Sulzmann, Tony Coe, Mark Lockheart, Dick Walter, Geoff Simkins and the Anglo-Canadian Project. By the early 2000s her enthusiastic, knowledgeable, technically assured and innovative approach had established her as a significant figure on the UK jazz scene.