Nick Smith (Knick Smith™) is an American born Jazz Pianist. An alumnus of Berklee College of Music, he was a member of the Jay Leno Tonight Show Band. Nick is passionate about the need for excellence and the mastery of all aspects of his craft, from performing to composing to producing. He considers Jazz a spiritual, versatile, and challenging art form and is devoted to providing performances that adhere to the correct form of the composition with persistently lyrical, stratospheric comping. He is a musician's musician—believing that there are only two types of music, good music and bad music. Nick’s catalog of original compositions features Jazz (Straight Ahead, Fusion, and Contemporary), Rock, R&B, and Funk. Nick’s previous CD projects, “INFLUENCED” and “It’s Like That,” are Straight Ahead Jazz. His latest project, “ROMANCE” is his first Contemporary Jazz CD. Some of the pianists that have influenced Nick are Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, McCoy Tyner, William ‘Red’ Garland, Wynton Kelly, Art Tatum, Kenny Kirkland, Billy Childs, Oscar Peterson, and Errol Garner. When composing, Nick seeks to express the sounds that he hears and feels—surpassing ordinary and reaching for supreme. Currently working on multiple projects, Nick has the firm conviction that one should always give their best. He feels that the rhythm gets you grooving, the melody makes the song, the message is the music, and the music is the truth.