Nick Finzer
Award winning musician Nick Finzer is a jazz trombonist and composer whose musical prowess is firmly planted with one foot in the past and another leading to the future. In January of 2013 Nick released his recording debut as a bandleader “Exposition” on his new label Outside in Music. “Exposition” presents Finzer’s unique musical lens, featuring ten original compositions that draw on the multifaceted influences that have shaped his musical development.
The onset of Nick’s love for jazz came through an exploration of Duke Ellington’s music during his high school years. Tunes like “Harlem Airshaft” and “In a Sentimental Mood” started him on an irreversible musical journey. These experiences culminated in a performance of Elllington’s music as part of the Essentially Ellington Festival hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center, which ignited Nick’s ambition to move to New York City to play music.
During this time Finzer also came under the tutelage of former Jazz at Lincoln Center Trombonist, Wycliffe Gordon. This relationship developed into a four year commission project in which Gordon wrote four pieces to feature Nick during his undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music. While studying at Eastman, Nick was able to play with many musicians who came through Rochester, New York including engagements with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Walt Weiskopf, John Clayton and Slide Hampton.
Since moving to New York City in 2010, Finzer has completed a Masters Degree from The Juilliard School, shared the stage with the likes of Frank Wess at Dizzy’s Club, Lew Tabackin and Terrell Stafford at The Blue Note, and continues to lead his own bands both around the city and across the country. While at Juilliard Nick had the opportunity to work with many mentors including Frank Kimbrough, Carl Allen, Ray Drummond, and studied under jazz trombone innovator, Steve Turre.
Nick was selected as a finalist in the 2010 International Trombone Association’s Carl Fontana Jazz Trombone Competition and in 2011 was the winner of the Eastern Trombone Workshop National Jazz Trombone Competition, where he performed alongside Jim Pugh, Bill Reichenbach, and Steve Wiest.
Finzer is also a committed educator. In 2012 Nick’s new Non Profit, the Institute for Creative Music won a “Great Classrooms” grant award from the Plum Creek Foundation. Nick currently serves as Co-Artistic Director for the Institute for Creative Music, which is dedicated to the education and dissemination of jazz and creative music across the nation. Since IfCM’s founding in 2011 Nick has lead workshops, masterclasses, and residencies spanning from coast to coast.
Read moreTags
Album Review
- The Chase by Bruce Lindsay
- The Chase by Mark Sullivan
- Hear & Now by Angelo Leonardi
- No Arrival by Dan Bilawsky
Radio & Podcasts
Read more articlesNovember 06, 2020
Outside In Music Celebrates Their Catalog With New Limited Edition...
March 01, 2017
Jazz this week: Clayton Brothers Quintet, Nick Finzer, "Sculptures in...
January 22, 2013
Primary Instrument
Trombone
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Master of Music, The Juilliard School, 2012 Bachelor of Music, Eastman School of Music, 2009 Private Lesson Rate: $75/hr
Clinic/Workshop Information
Nick Finzer is a 2012 graduate of the Juilliard Jazz program at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. Prior to his education there, Nick earned a Bachelors degree in Jazz and Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Nick has been on the faculty at the Eastman Summer Jazz Camp, as well as Juilliard Jazz residencies at Snow College (Ephraim, UT) and in West Palm Beach, Florida
Photos
Album Discography
We're More Than the Sum of Our Influences
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
The Guru
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
... the Alternative
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
You'll Never Know ...
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
Venus
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
The Weatherman
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
(Take the) Fork in the Road
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
A Duke
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
... Patience
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
Patience...
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
Brutus, the Contemporary
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
... Perspective
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
Evolution of ...
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
A Sorcerer (is a myth)
From: Cast Of CharactersBy Nick Finzer
Antiquity
From: That's a ComputerBy Nick Finzer
Love Wins
From: Hear and NowBy Nick Finzer
Life Happens
From: The ChaseBy Nick Finzer
Alternate Agenda
From: ExpositionBy Nick Finzer