Home » Jazz Musicians » Nicolas Meier
Nicolas Meier
In just a few short years UK-based Swiss guitarist Nicolas Meier has carved a reputation out as one of the UK’s most original guitarists. Drawing on a love of Turkish, Eastern music, Flamenco, Tango all mix with jazz, Meier has developed his own unique sound with his regular group (latest release was his eight album with his full band.)
London based Swiss guitarist Nicolas Meier is one of the stars of a vibrant British jazz scene, his trademark sound, as heard on his MGP Records and Naim albums, a mixture of Methenyesque jazz and spicy Turkish and world music rhythms.
While in 2006 Meier and his band won the prestigious Grand Prize Of The Jury and 1st Prize Jazz Guitar at Jazz a Juan Revelations 2006: A competition open to the finest new jazz musicians and bands in Europe and run by the legendary Jazz A Juan Festival. He has become increasingly well known in his adopted country where his Nicolas Meier Group featuring some incredible musicians (listed below) has toured extensively for the last 8 years.
Meier draws on a multitude of influences: Jazz, Flamenco, Latin and middle-eastern music are all passionately explored in a series of heartfelt acoustic modern jazz originals and all represent part of Meier’s musical and personal world. His wife Songul is Turkish and he has spent time there and in Spain and ‘Orient’ draws on the melodies and rhythms of both countries. Writing in the Guardian, John Fordham described Meier as” elegant in tone and bubbling with ideas… his originality as a writer, a player and a team leader dispatches any doubts” and described his debut album Orient as ‘a seductive balance of strong themes, inventive improvising and dynamic variety’.
Meier who was born in 73 first picked up the guitar when he was 12. His parents, both art lovers, had wide-ranging musical tastes and he was exposed to classical, jazz, Latin, flamenco, rock and pop. And it was an early gift from his father of Joe Satriani’s legendary ‘Surfing with the Aliens’ and Tony MacAlpine’s Maximum Security (major intelligent rock guitar-god albums) that first really convinced a young Meier to get practicing. Perhaps his old man was worried because he was subsequently taken on a family outing to the Montreux Jazz festival (in what would become an annual pilgrimage) where he heard Carlos Santana with special guest Wayne Shorter. And later that summer Meier was blown away when he saw John McLaughlin’s trio in Antibes (Trilok Gurtu and Jeff Berlin). In fact Mclaughlin’s album Live at the Royal Festival Hall would be a major influence on Meier with its mix of many styles.
Read moreTags
Dwiki Dharmawan: Pasar Klewer
by John Kelman
Indonesian keyboard star Dwiki Dharmawan returns following his 2015 MoonJune Records debut, the more fusion-heavy So Far, So Close, with the even more ambitious Pasar Klewer. This vibrant, acoustic piano-driven two-CD set features the cream of Britain's younger expat crop, blending with Indonesian musicians to create a passionate, seamless cultural cross-pollination. Bassist Yaron Stavi and drummer/percussionist Asaf Sirkis form the core trio with Dharmawan, while reed multi-instrumentalist Gilad Atzmon, Gamelan musical virtuoso Aris Daryono and guitarists Nicolas Meier ...
read moreNicolas Meier/ Dewa Budjana Group: Flying Spirits
by Jim Worsley
As much as 2020 was a lemon, it was quite the fruitful year for jazz and fusion records. The vault had been closed, sealed, and bolted shut for the year, until a spirit swept the room. Under the heading of 'saving the best for last' or a 'hail Mary,' the magical journey of Flying Spirits (Blue Canoe, 2020) was in the air, in the ear, and enriching the mind. The record brought together virtuoso level guitarists, Nicolas Meier and Dewa ...
read moreNicolas Meier World Group: Peaceful
by Mark Sullivan
London-based Swiss guitarist Nicolas Meier (heard mainly on nylon string guitar here) leads his World Group quartet in a program of his compositions. The group is well named, as Meier takes inspiration from all over the world; Turkish music, Middle Eastern music, samba, flamenco and tango all mix with jazz in this sound. Besiktas Cafe" opens the set with a sprightly waltz, Meier executing the first of many technically difficult passages with a smile and a dance step. ...
read moreDwiki Dharmawan: Pasar Klewer
by Dave Wayne
Another day, another two- disc set. Or so it seems. Fortunately, one does not have to wade through Dwiki Dharmawan's Pasar Klewer. Despite some odd choices in track sequence one may even wonder ..."is that all?" after the second disc has finished its spin. Dharmawan is an Indonesian jazz pianist who, like so many of his countrymen, has found a rich vein of inspiration in the folk and ethnic musics of his native land. It's worth noting that Dharmawan is ...
read moreNicolas Meier: Kismet
by Bruce Lindsay
Guitarist Nicolas Meier is blessed with precise intonation, fluid technique and mastery of a range of different styles. As a composer, he mixes influences from Turkey, central Europe, Iberia and the Americas to craft accessible, melodic tunes. On Kismet his talents as musician and writer come together to create what might be his best album to date. Meier is not only one of the jazz world's most exciting guitarists, he's also one of its more prolific recording artists. ...
read moreNicolas Meier: From Istanbul To Ceuta With A Smile
by Bruce Lindsay
Long ago, when the world was younger and far more innocent, a British TV commercial challenged its viewers. Take a particular brand of fruit pastille (Rowntree's, to be specific), place it in the mouth, resist the temptation to chew. So deliciously fruity was the pastille that such resistance would be futile. A similar challenge might be initiated for From Istanbul To Ceuta With A Smile, from the Swiss-born, UK-based guitarist Nicolas Meier. Take the album, press Play, listen, resist the ...
read morePete Oxley and Nicolas Meier: Travels To The West
by Bruce Lindsay
Guitar duos may not be quite as rare as hen's teeth in the world of jazz, but they're far from common. Yes, there are classic pairings such as Bucky Pizzarelli and George Barnes, or John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner; but given the instrument's ubiquity it's perhaps surprising that there aren't more such partnerships around. On Travels To The West, a live album recorded during a short UK tour in late 2011, Pete Oxley and Nicolas Meier demonstrate the qualities that ...
read morePhotos
Music
Joged Kahyangen
From: Flying SpiritsBy Nicolas Meier
Pasar Klewer
From: Pasar KlewerBy Nicolas Meier