Trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and educator Nick Vayenas has been a mainstay on the music
scene for the past 15 years. Based in New York City, Nick has worked in a variety of settings
both as a sideman and leader. Originally from Boston, Vayenas started his music studies at age
12. He earned scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music
and the Thelonious Monk Institute, which were key to his technical development as a musician
and composer. Vayenas studied with such jazz luminaries as trombonists Hal Crook, Conrad
Herwig, Bill Watrous, David Taylor, Phil Wilson, and Steve Turre, as well as trumpeters Terence
Blanchard, Greg Hopkins, and Vince Penzarella.
Since 2003, Nick has been a member of the horn for section for Grammy® Award-winning
recording artist Michael Bublé. He has performed on several Michael Bublé recordings, including
Crazy Love, Nobody But Me, and the Grammy® Award- winning Michael Bublé Meets Madison
Square Garden. Nick has also worked and recorded with prominent artists such as Lady
Antebellum, Josh Groban, Bryan Adams, David Foster, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Scott,
Aaron Parks, Lionel Loueke, Patrick Cornelius, Dayna Stephens, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter,
Terence Blanchard and Gretchen Parlato. Television performances include the Tonight Show, Late
Show with David Letterman, Today Show, Oprah, Ellen and Saturday Night Live. He has
performed at the Umbria Jazz, Montreal Jazz, and St. Lucia Jazz Festivals, and at venues such as
Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Blue
Note Jazz Club and Ronnie Scott's. Nick is also a sought after teacher and clinician and has
given workshops around the world on behalf of Conn/Selmer musical instruments.
In 2009, Vayenas became a leader in his own right, releasing his acclaimed debut album,
Synesthesia, on drummer Kendrick Scott’s World Culture Music label. "A well conceived album
and more than casually ambitious", wrote Nate Chinen of the New York Times. In 2012, he
returned with his sophomore release, Nick Vayenas, on Whirlwind Recordings. The recording
displayed his astonishing breadth of skills on trombone, trumpet, and vocals as well as his unique
composing and arranging style. "One of the most impressive of Whirlwind issues, showcasing a
multi-talented individual likely to appeal to a wide constituency of jazz fans, 4 stars", said Jazz
Journal. Nick’s latest album Flow Motion will be released in early 2017 and features him teaming
up with saxophonists Dayna Stephens and Patrick Cornelius on a set of original music.
Nick Vayenas is a Conn-Selmer Artist