Nikki Anne Burnham, known as Nikki Iles, was born on May 16, 1963, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, and is a British jazz composer, pianist, and educator. After winning a Royal Academy of Music competition at eleven, she studied clarinet, piano, and later alto saxophone at Leeds College of Music, beginning her career accompanying Bobby Wellins and forming the ensemble Emanon with trumpeter Richard Iles. She earned the John Dankworth Special Award in 1996 and the British Jazz Award for best pianist in 2017. Her album More Than You Know (2004) was released on 33 Records, Hush in 2012 with Rufus Reid and Jeff Williams, and Face to Face (2024) with the NDR Bigband.
