Jace Nicholas

Jace Nicholas began his musical journey at the age of 8 on piano, but if you were to ask him, he would tell you that his love for music started long before. While growing up in the small town of Houlka, MS, it was a mandatory thing for him to get dressed for school early so he could watch the children’s show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. “For some reason, I was totally fascinated by the music of that show, not knowing till years later that all of the music and sound effects of that show was live by an off-stage jazz band so I think that contributed a bit to my style of playing” Jace says.

From gaining recognition around town and playing for different churches, Jace relocated to Tupelo, MS, better known as “the Birthplace of Elvis Presley”, in hopes of possibly gaining more musical exposure. It wasn’t long before his talents landed him a full time job playing for some of the most prestigious gospel artists from the area, like Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC’s, Evelyn Turrentine-Agee, The Gospel Four, The Jackson Southernaires, and The Golden Wings Quartet. 

But it wasn’t until November of 2011 when Jace Nicholas enrolled into Fullsail University to receive his Bachelors in Audio and Music Production that an assignment required him to compose music caught the ear of one of the instructors. The instructor immediately contacted Jace Nicholas totally fascinated by what he heard and suggested that he should think about a career as a jazz artist.

Nevertheless, here we are today with Jace Nicholas deciding to take a plunge into the jazz world with his traditional stride jazz sound combined with fusion melodies topped off with a hint of Gospel, Blues and modern day Neo-Soul style. With his new album in the works, Jace Nicholas is determined to carry the musical torch for the forth coming generation of jazz artists.