Having grown up singing in her southern Baptist church in Alabama, Nicki Rivers fondly recalls her first meeting as a teenager with her mentor Jim Bell, affectingly known as JB. This Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame inductee was inspired and mentored by the late great Jay MacShan. “JB would always have me sit and listen to Sarah, Duke, Ella, Basie, Carmen, Billie, all the greats,†says the jazz singer.
Now in New York City, Nicki performs in various clubs and jam sessions. Lenox Lounge, St. Nicholas Pub, Blue Note Late Night Jam Session, and Sweet Rhythm are among the venues. She studied music formally at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music from 2002-2004. During this academic stint, Nicki studied and performed with outstanding artists in Jazz including Junior Mance, Michael Carvin, Andy Milne, Amy London, Jimmy Owens, Janet Lawson, Bill Kirchner, Ron Petrides, Chico Hamilton, and Richard Harper.
While a student, Nicki was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2003 International 12th Annual Fish Middleton Jazz Scholarship Fund. Additionally, she received full tuition to study Jazz in July held in 2001 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts headed by Dr. Billy Taylor. Nicki performed in New Orleans for a 2000 workshop at the International Jazz Educators Conference with Kurt Elling. She has subsequently studied and trained with Ledesi and Shelia Jordan at Madeline Eastman’s Jazz Camp West.
Before moving to New York, with considerable experience in honing her craft, Nicki performed in various clubs and concerts throughout her home state in Alabama and in New Orleans. This included jam sessions at the Funky Butt and Snug Harbor. Additionally, Nicki performed as the vocalist with the Auburn Knights Orchestra, founded in 1935,one of the oldest known working big bands in America. http://www.auburnknights.com/
Nicki’s mentor, JB, recognized “something in my voice, my eagerness to learn and the respect that I seemed to innately have for the great music of jazz. As I grew older, I came to absorb and love the music with a passion,†says Nicki.
