Nicholas Bridgman composes and performs contemporary jazz piano. He is classically trained, having made his debut at age 16, performing the Shostakovich First Piano Concerto with the New West Symphony, conducted by Maestro Boris Brott. In college, he began focusing on jazz, studying with jazz-classical crossover artist David Rees-Williams in Canterbury, England, and later performing in the U.C. Jazz ensembles while double-majoring in Ecology and Rhetoric at U.C. Berkeley. In the years since, he performed with numerous jazz ensembles in California, and was featured on radio shows, playlists, and blogs worldwide. In 2022, he released his fourth album containing his original compositions, entitled Blue Horizon, with musicians Craig Hall, Dan Koloski, and Jim O’Sullivan. The band came together online due to being formed during the COVID pandemic, and it explored new dimensions in arranging and virtual collaboration for Nicholas. His latest album, Breaching the Surface, releases on January 10, 2025. In general, his compositions draw on inspiration from jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, while taking on a modern flair influenced by pop, new age, R&B, and contemporary classical music.
