BIOGRAPHY
NICK MACLEAN is a JUNO nominee for 'Jazz Album of the Year (group)', the winner of 10 Global Music Awards, and a 1st place winner in the 'Unsigned Only' 'Jazz' category while quickly becoming one of the most in demand piano players in Toronto's bustling jazz scene. A protege of the Canadian jazz trumpet iconoclast, BROWNMAN ALI, Nick leads two critically acclaimed and multi-award winning jazz ensembles which feature his longtime mentor: the funkified electric jazz group SNAGGLE and the hard swinging modern jazz group NICK MACLEAN QUARTET, as well as having received numerous accolades and acclaim for his SOLO PIANO work. Nick has toured right across Canada as well as internationally, performing for countless audiences and running jazz improvisation workshops for students and listeners eager to learn more about the artform. From Miles Davis & Herbie Hancock to Weather Report & Snarky Puppy, Maclean’s musical influences are diverse.
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Nick received his Bachelors of Music from Humber College in 2013, having studied with David Restivo, Bernie Senensky and Nancy Walker. He then went on to do a Masters in Jazz Performance at the University of Toronto researching synthesizer pedagogy while studying under David Occhipinti, Andrew Downing, Chris Donnelly and David Braid. Braid in particular had an enormous influence on how Maclean approaches playing and composing.
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Maclean and his mentor BROWNMAN ALI have been collaborative partners across a decade spanning numerous musical endeavours the fruits of which include Snaggle's 2016 release THE LONG SLOG, Nick Maclean Quartet's 2017 release RITES OF ASCENSION, Maclean's 2021 double solo piano release CAN YOU HEAR ME?, and the Nick Maclean Quartet's JUNO nominated 2023 release of CONVERGENCE. Maclean and his ensembles are signed to Brownman's NYC-based jazz record label BROWNTASAURAS RECORDS, an independent record label widely regarded as a vanguard for Canadian, forward-thinking jazz, and where Maclean works as a managing partner out of their Toronto offices. The future is bright for this young visionary as he continues his upward ascent in jazz artforms of all shapes and sizes.
“Nick Maclean has superior piano skills, coupled with great ideas and emotional execution.”
- Randy Brecker, Jazz trumpet legend (NYC, USA)​
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“Nick Maclean stands out for me as one of the most gifted young Toronto pianists to come along in the last few years. His combination of raw creativity and a well studied grasp of the technical and theoretical aspects of music makes for a powerful musical statement.”
- Adrean Farrugia, JUNO winning jazz pianist (Toronto, CANADA)​​
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“Many describe Nick Maclean as a “rising star”, but those of us that heard him this afternoon think otherwise – *that* star has “already” risen!”
- Markham Jazz Festival, (Markham, CANADA)
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“Maclean's creative mind and aesthetics are obvious... his piano solos both lyrical and invigorating...”
- Ivana Popovic, The Wholenote (Toronto, Canada)
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“I inevitably think of names like Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hanock, Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau and Danish Carsten Dahl – great jazz pianists who before Maclean have thrown themselves into equally groundbreaking solo projects... The work as a whole is faceted, rich, personal and intimate, at times sensitive, at times exuberantly expressive.”
- Ivan Rod (Copenhagen, Denmark)
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“Young Toronto-based pianist Nick Maclean and his quartet offer his second sensational album with the impressive “Convergence” delivering a host of new original material that’s exciting, explosive and infectious... “Convergence” reveals Maclean’s talents as a composer as well as his chops on the piano making the case for one of the young lions of jazz today.”
- Edward Blanco, AllAboutJazz.com and WDNA, 88.9FM (Miami, USA)
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“Rooted in bop, Nick Maclean Quartet is the sound of new jazz. Energy and innovation delivered with precision.”
- Russell Barling, The Sweet Spot - CHLY 101.7 FM (Nanaimo, CANADA)
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“I was a great fan of Herbie Hancock’s 60’s music. Nick Maclean Quartet is very solid. «Convergence» is one of the best Canadian albums of 2023 and should have chances to get a Juno.”
- Denys Lelièvre, CKRL (Quebec City, Canada)
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“Might Nick Maclean be to Canadian pianists what Kamasi Washington has become to U.S. saxophonists? In terms of creating a lengthy, wide-ranging document of modern jazz with some agenda and ideology supporting its musical invention, Toronto-based Maclean’s Can You Hear Me? possesses commensurate scope and vision to Washington's name-making The Epic… the answer to Maclean's Can You Hear Me? is not only a “yes,” but “more, please,” too.”
- Jamie Lee Rake, Shepherd Express (Milwaukee, USA)
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“Nick Maclean’s “Rites Of Ascension” is nicely twisted and baked! A fresh look at Herbie Hancock classics and delicious new original themes all presented with taste and virtuosity. No safety net here, everyone is living on the edge. Nick’s playing and writing is sublime, Brownman sounds ferocious and the rhythm section is an unstoppable force. This is truly jazz at it’s adventurous best. I love the music these guys make. You will too."
- Bruce Cassidy, Blood, Sweat & Tears MD (Toronto, Canada)​
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“Rites Of Ascension … here’s a hot CD by a Canadian-based jazz group playing four pieces by Herbie Hancock mixed in with a plethora of original tunes by the leader [Nick Maclean] and trumpeter Brownman Ali, clearly one of the more arresting and individual players I’ve heard in a long time… this band is like a tonic; they wake you up and put some pep in your step! An outstanding album, one that should put the Maclean Quartet firmly on the musical map. No two ways about it, the Nick Maclean Quartet has staked out its claim in the jazz world and intends to stick around."
- Lynn Rene Bayley, The Art Music Lounge (Cincinnati, USA)
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“Nick’s mighty mellow keyboards lead this dynamic quartet, through a series of high-energy originals and re-imagined Hancock tunes in an album that just demands to be in your long-term collection… if you’re like me, though, you’ll be pushing this out to your player & listening to it every time you take a cruise… folks, if you ain’t snappin’ all five of those digits along with the heavy rhythm on this one, you are NOT the “jazz fan” you claim to be… Ali’s trumpet just SHINES [and] it was an easy pick for personal favorite of the eleven songs offered up – Brownman’s original, “Madness Of Nero“, the longest cut on the album, gives each player a chance to show their significant chops… it’s certainly the best trumpet-led piece I’ve heard in 2017. I give Nick & the rest of the quartet a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.98 for this thrilling jazz adventure."
- Dick Metcalf, Improvijazzation Nation (Washington, USA)
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– 2024 JUNO NOMINEE
'Convergence' nominated for ‘Jazz Album of the Year (group)’
– 2024 International Songwriting Competition
Finalist: for ‘Road Warrior’
– 2024 International Songwriting Competition
Semifinalist: for ‘Why The Caged Bird Sings’
– 2024 Couleurs Jazz Hit winner
presented by Couleurs Jazz Radio (Paris, France)
– 2023 Unsigned Only Competition (1st Place)
‘Road Warrior’ wins 1st place in ‘Jazz’ category
– 2023 Jazz in the City’s 'Best of 2023’ on Jazz FM91
'Convergence'
– 2023 Textura’s '2023 Top 30 Jazz Picks’
'Convergence’ listed at #24
– 2023 2X 'Silver' Global Music Award winner
'Convergence' in the ‘band’, and ‘album’ categories
– 2022 No.7 on the jazz charts across Canada
'Can You Hear Me?'
– 2022 2X 'Bronze' Global Music Award winner
'Can You Hear Me?' in the ‘instrumental’, and ‘composer’ categories
– 2018 ‘Top 5 albums of Spring 2018’
Global Music Awards for 'Rites of Ascension'
– 2018 3X 'Gold' Global Music Award winner
'Rites of Ascension' in ‘jazz’, ‘album’, and ‘instrumental’ categories
– 2018 CJSF's 'Julian Award of Excellence’ nominee
for ‘Rites of Ascension'
– 2017 International Independent Music Award nominee
'The Long Slog' for ‘Best Jazz/Funk/Jam'
– 2017 Toronto Independent Music Award
'The Long Slog' winner for ‘Best Jazz Instrumental'
– 2017 AllAboutJazz.com’s ‘download of the day’
for 'Elasticity of Time and Space'
– 2016 3X 'Gold' Global Music Award winner
'The Long Slog' for ‘band’, ‘album’, and ‘creativity/originality’
– 2016 4-star rating on AllAboutJazz.com
for 'The Long Slog'
– 2016 AllAboutJazz.com’s ‘download of the day’
for “Snaggle #7”
– 2016 No.1 on the jazz charts in Kamloops
for 'The Long Slog'
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“A young lion piano man you can’t argue with, it doesn’t take any thought to do a tribute to Herbie Hancock set but it does take being an old soul to it like he was there when things older than him were created. A well deserved award winner in many jazz and music circles, Maclean leads his crew into the untamed wilds of really doing right rather than just showing up. A smoking set that sounds and feels like the real thing, this forward into the past set – where most of the songs are originals – is a first class doozy. Killer stuff throughout."
- Chris Spector, The Midwest Record (Illinois, USA)
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“…Nick MacLean may have set out to make this a homage to Mr. Hancock, he has, in fact also paid his proverbial, obligatory dues to the venerable pianist, he is ready – and has – moved on very quickly into a musical territory that has rightfully claimed as his own. “Goldberg Machine" and “Elasticity of Time and Space” are two of the highest “highs” on this record. Each melody is so lyrical that often during the choruses one feels as if there is a spectral voice somewhere, “singing out the melody”. This is Mr. Maclean’s music, evocative of the poetry of feeling. It is also a great fortune to have fellow rhythmists in bassist Jesse Dietschi and drummer Tyler Goertzen along for the ride. And what a thrill it appears to be to have Brownman Ali to be the other lead voice on this recording. The trumpeter’s burnished notes – even those articulated using a wah-wah pedal effect – make for gleaming phrases and his solo on his original, “Madness of Nero” is utterly memorable…this music does more than just swing delightfully, but also seeks to reflect on more profound aspects of human existence. This together with the fact that you will be hard-pressed to find another production this good makes Rites of Ascension quite as unforgettable"
- Raul Da Gama, Toronto Music Report (Toronto, Canada)
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“The music of Snaggle, a fruitful sextet based in Toronto, translates into mature compositions and stupendous executions. The members of the band, virtuosos in their respective instruments, resort to a laudable sense of unity and superior taste to creatively orchestrate the nine pieces of The Long Slog, their sophomore feature album… In a certain moment they’re confronting Miles Davis with Medeski Martin & Wood; in the other, you may find the Red Hot Chili Peppers colliding with Incognito or Mahavishnu Orchestra."
- Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail (New York, USA)
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“Nick Maclean’s 6-man electric-jazz group SNAGGLE is most impressive! The music on Long Slog is very, very challenging, yet groovy, soulful & exploratory at the same time. Brownman himself guests on 2 tunes and fits in with flying colors – no easy task given how difficult some of this music is! Extremely well performed, written and executed you Snagglers, with high-end production from Brown in the producer’s chair. Very impressive work. Reminds me of a band I used to play in! Really well done guys."
- Randy Brecker, jazz trumpet legend (New York, USA)
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“Maclean’s foursome delivers jazz between the two poles of thoughtful introspection and powerhouse conveyance, taking influences from Herbie Hancock’s primordial 1960’s Blue Note era recordings featuring Freddie Hubbard, while simultaneously paying apt tribute to some of the greatest improvisers in jazz history.”
- Memphis Marty, The Jazz Music Blog (Australia)
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