Mike Nock is a jazz pianist and composer based in Sydney, Australia. He is internationally recognised as a leader in his field through his extensive catalogue of recordings and original compositions. His music encompasses a broad range of instrumentation and style.
Nock began studying piano at 11. He moved to Australia from New Zealand in the late 1950s, quickly establishing himself as a musician in demand in Sydney and Melbourne jazz clubs and as a member of the highly regarded Three Out Trio. He headed a trio that toured England in 1961 and then attended Berklee College of Music. Nock spent the following 25 years in the USA working with a diverse group of legendary musicians including Dionne Warwick, Coleman Hawkins, and Yusef Lateef. During 1968-70 Nock was interested in fusion, leading the Fourth Way band. After a few years he became a studio musician in New York (1975-85) and then returned to Australia. From 1996 to 2001 he was music director of Naxos Jazz, overseeing the production of more than 60 widely acclaimed jazz albums from all corners of the world.
Nock’s compositions include orchestral music, woodwind and percussion ensembles, and electronic and choral works, and have been recorded and performed by a range of jazz and non-jazz performers. He has a large catalogue of critically acclaimed, internationally released recordings under his leadership and his music has been commissioned and performed by groups such as the Cleveland Chamber Symphony (USA), Australian Chamber Orchestra, New Zealand Piano Quartet, and the Umo Jazz Orchestra (Finland) among many others.
Nock has received three USA National Endowment Awards for composition. In the 2003 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to jazz. In 2009 he was inducted into the Bell Awards Australian Jazz Hall of Fame and in 2014 he was awarded the Don Banks Music Award, the most esteemed individual music award in Australia.
He currently lives in New South Wales where he taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from 1986 until 2018 and performs with his trio, big band, and various one-off ensembles.
