LORI NICELY is a Washington DC based composer, pianist, keyboard artist, arranger, songwriter, and producer whose smooth, lush, upbeat, and lyrical piano, instrumental, and vocals music, offers a unique experience and escape.
Lori's music has been on Top 10 commercial radio markets including ADULT CONTEMPORARY / SMOOTH AC / SMOOTH JAZZ, charted TOP 10 / TOP 40 / TOP 100, and has made BILLBOARD, MEDIABASE, and RadioWave Monitor Top 100.
Lori is excited about her new single “Breathe”, as her life-long love of piano & keyboards shines through. “What I love about ‘Breathe’”, explains Lori, “is that it is a pianist’s (and keyboardist’s) song. I was excited to showcase what one artist can do musically, playing one instrument – writing and playing the different parts. And as the title suggests, the song ‘breathes’. It is delicate, it flows, it moves, it builds. It conveys emotion.”
Lori highlights that she composed and performed eight tracks of piano / keyboards to create "Breathe". As a result, Lori brings to life her signature sound of beautiful melodies, counter melodies, & underscore melodies which abound in “Breathe”, making it a listening pleasure - a smooth journey infused with relaxation & reflection - an overall “feel good” contemporary piano-keyboard instrumental with a classic sound.
Lori's previous release (holiday single), an original arrangement of "O Come All Ye Faithful" (ft. Selina Albright) (2025), which contained new, original music, made BILLBOARD TOP 100. Her prior single "Come on Down" ft. Selina Albright with acclaimed bassist Vernon Prout (Tamar Braxton, Lalah Hathaway, Lizzo) reached #1 on The Urban Influencer Smooth Jazz chart, was included in the playlist of Kim Scott's Block Party Radio show, and charted for 13 weeks on Smooth Jazz Network and Smoothjazz.com Top 100. "Reach into My Heart" (2024) feat. Selina Albright & Abe LaMarca hit 6 charts, including 14 weeks on Top 100 Smooth Jazz Network and Smoothjazz.com. "Faithfully LaDonna" (2023) an original music tribute to DONNA SUMMER feat. Billboard saxophonist Justin Young, with smooth vocals from Rachel Oliver-Cobbin (former Atlantic Starr lead singer), Vernon Prout on bass, and top tier drummer Mike Reid (Rihanna, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake), charted for 12 weeks, hitting #7 on The Urban Influencer and breaking into the Top 40 on Smooth Jazz Network. Lori's music has been on TV, used in media awards shows (The Gracie Awards in New York), and in the Peabody Award winning "American Presidents: Life Portraits" series. Her “Best Climate Change” music video got the attention of WaterBear Network, the “Netflix” for environmental videos, who have added her as a composer for potential future projects. With all of Lori's music, she aims to tell a story.
Originally from Virginia, Lori is a natural and developed an ear for quickly recognizing melodies at a very young age (4-5). She combined an innate ability to hone in on melodies with teaching herself piano at age 9, to be able to play completely by ear. She began composing around age 12. She was formally trained in trumpet at age 12 and performed jazz, symphonic, and pop/rock music through high school (Alleghany) and college (Radford), playing in concert, jazz, pep, and symphonic bands, and even played in a backup horn section for a local rock band. Throughout high school and college, she was hired frequently to play piano because she could play the latest hits, not needing sheet music, and created her own arrangements. She also played piano at churches, pageants, weddings, and other local events. Lori also plays guitar. She has a
As Lori started to record her music professionally, she realized her true passion is composing music, songwriting, and engaging with and showcasing other top talent.
Lori Nicely's music has been compared to pop icon “Hit Man” David Foster, for her strong melodies, lyrical piano, and smooth instrumentation, but modern - for the 21st century. Like Foster, Lori creates and produces fantastic songs, performs piano/keyboards, and brings in other top performers that she hand picks. She worked directly with Foster’s sax player for movie soundtracks and pop hits, David Boruff, who was a featured soloists on several of her earlier tracks, among them “Our Secret” and “When You Are Here”. Lori’s music crosses several genres, ages, and demographics, appealing to audiences in Smooth jazz, pop, contemporary piano instrumental, and film soundtrack / sync licensing (PRO - BMI).
Lori has been interviewed on various Smooth Jazz / Smooth AC podcasts and/or radio shows (including Chicago based Cornell "Big Corn" Bethea's "The Smooth Jazz Cafe", Orlando based Muzilog Magazine Podcast with Sam Archer, Texas based "We're Just Talking" with Kyle Collins, and Los Angeles based CoffeeTalk Jazz with Ms. Bridgett Lewis). Lori was also a featured guest artist on "The Industry Roundtable" at The Urban Influencer.
ABOUT LATEST SINGLES & MUSIC VIDEOS
Lori's new single "Breathe" is now available on your favorite digital platform! So PIANO & MUSIC LOVERS, GET READY! Lori's music videos, available on her YouTube Channel "Lori Nicely Official", are "mini movies" about modern life, relationships, and love, supported by her uniquely smooth and moving soundtracks. Her music and videos "tell a story" and cross several genres, ages, and demographics, appealing to audiences in pop, Smooth Jazz, contemporary piano instrumental, and film soundtrack. Lori aims to have a broad reach with her music: "No matter who you are, where you are from, there is something for you to enjoy. There is something to capture your emotions, something you can relate to".
Lori continues to create strong melodies and looks to engage top performers in Smooth Jazz and pop.
