Nikki Iles Jazz Orchestra at the RNCM
Johnny James, Managing Editor
As part of this year’s jam-packed manchester jazz festival, the RNCM welcomes back award-winning pianist and composer, Nikki Iles and her 20-piece Jazz Orchestra. Described by the Guardian as “one of the most refreshing figures to have emerged in the UK in recent times”, Iles is a pianist of extraordinary imagination, her sensitive playing and improvisational style centred on obliquely resolved phrasing that sidesteps expectation.
A founding member of the innovative Creative Jazz Orchestra in the early ’90s, Iles has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in jazz, one that turns to a new chapter as she heads out on a national tour with a newly-assembled 20-piece band. With them, she’ll perform original works from across her career, as well as new compositions, showcasing the broad range of her writing, arranging and playing.
