Young Artist Interview: Nico Widdowson
Pianist Nico Widdowson is the Musicians’ Company 2024 Tina May Jazz Award winner, an award given to an exceptionally talented young British jazz musician following an audience vote. A Leeds Conservatoire graduate and founder of the Nico Widdowson Trio, Nico also recently performed on the album ¡Blamo! alongside Young Artist Fergus Quill. The album was featured in Jazzwise and GQ’s list of Coolest Things of the Week.
How are you, and where are you currently?
I’m very well thank you. And I am currently in my house share in Streatham.
Congratulations on your Tina May Jazz award win. What did you perform?
We performed a bunch of tunes written by each member of the competition, mine was my as-yet-unreleased tune entitled Angela Scott. It was a kick to hear it being played by three horns; Helena, Flo and Donovan got the vibe of it so well. Kielan’s bass solo took us far into the cosmos and Matt’s drums held us all together. We also played a few standards, one of which, Monk’s Dream, I performed as a trio.
How did you feel about playing with unfamiliar musicians in a competitive environment?
In this particular style of music you have to get used to playing with new people pretty quickly. I’ve been on last minute gigs where I don’t even know the names of the musicians I’m sharing the stage with, so I think we all felt pretty relaxed with each other and just wanted to make the best music we collectively could. I’m not used to competitions however, so I was a little nervous. Thankfully everyone was so nice and shared similar opinions about ego’s place (or lack thereof) in music that the whole show just felt positive and supportive.
What was the highlight of the evening besides winning the award?
One of the highlights was meeting the other musicians. It’s always great to hear new sounds, especially from different cities. I’m definitely keen to reconnect with them and hopefully play more in the future alongside them.
Tell us about the Nico Widdowson Trio. What defines your sound and style?
One of the things I feel that defines the style of my band is the philosophy and aim behind the music. You mentioned earlier that I studied in Leeds, and I think that that city has one of the best improvising music scenes in the world. This is largely due to its fearlessness in its pursuit of authenticity and creativity. Since moving to London I’ve come across a lot of fear and misplaced ego in the scene. And it is a big, scary, expensive city; there’s a lot to be fearful of. But there’s no place for it in this music. And there forms the message behind my music, a message I’ve learned from all my favourite musicians I’ve ever played with: to encourage people to care a little less about making mistakes and a little more about being themselves.
And so, there’s some ugliness in my music. ‘Mistakes’ if you want to call them that. I try to embrace my weaknesses and turn them into strengths. I throw ideas at my band without warning them, to keep them, and myself, fresh and on our toes. I love pairing ugliness and beauty side by side so that they become one in the same thing. Ellington, a personal hero of mine, was a master of this. And most importantly I try to have fun. Don’t get me wrong, I’m deeply serious about the music I make, but at the end of the day it’s only music and it’s funny. Ellington knew the music was funny, Monk did, Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, Ornette, Mozart, Bird. Some people seem to have forgotten that about it and it’s a shame.
So yeah, that’s what we sound like.
Nico Widdowson Trio live at Alfie’s Jazz Club Soho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7A5AIVLhrE&ab_channel=SohoLiveMusicClub
What made you fall in love with the Harlem stride jazz piano style of the 20s and 30s?
I first saw stride being played, in front of my very eyes, at Love Supreme Festival in 2017 when I saw Joe Webb playing with Kansas Smitty’s. Now that was one of those moments that changed my life forever. It’s a long and treacherous path learning stride however, so it hasn’t been easy and I’m far from perfect at it, but I love it.
I got into Duke in a big way a few years ago and from that I got into Willie the Lion and then the other Harlem Stride guys: Fats, Tatum, James P. It’s a music that, if you listen to it from a distance, can sound super old and quaint, but really it’s punk music. It’s harsh and gritty and the ultimate example of flawless black artistry at a time when the voices of black artists weren’t taken seriously.
In lockdown I got online lessons from an LA pianist called Dylan Meek and he put me onto how to wrestle the piano in the physical way that you have to in order to play stride. I was just fascinated by the origins of this music. I then got into Jaki Byard and Monk, and started thinking how McCoy is ostensibly playing stride with his big explosive left hand. Stride is one of the purest versions of this kind of music and so I incorporated it into my own playing and writing.
I make no claims about making anything new with my music, for all intents and purposes I’m rehashing a really old style, but it feels fresh to me because I do it as authentically to myself as I can.
What repertoire are you currently working on?
I am currently in the process of releasing a few albums under Fergus Quill’s project ‘Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band’, so keep your eyes out for that in the coming months. I’m also going to release music under my own name for the first time in my life next year. I have quite a few albums planned out but I finished writing my trio record just before the competition came around. Other than that, I’m digging into Mingus a lot at the minute and trying to get a bit of that under my fingers.
Find out more about Nico on Instagram @nicowiddowson