Nikolaj Nikitin (1983) is a musician and teacher from Bratislava, Slovakia. He has been playing woodwind instruments since childhood. He studied clarinet and saxophone at the conservatory and the theory of musical art at VŠMU. In addition, he attended private lessons in jazz improvisation with Harry Sokal and Andy Middleton. Right from the beginning of his career, he collaborated with leading Slovak musicians and in 2012 he released his debut album Personal Suite (RMH 2012) with legends of Slovak jazz (Gabriel Jonáš, Jozef Dome, Juraj Griglák). He later collaborated with the American trumpet player Patches Stewart, with whom he recorded two more self-titled albums (New Winter Stories and Music for Boys and Girls). This period was followed by years of musical experimentation and discovery of new sound and improvisational possibilities. The double album based on the music of Leoš Janáček: Tales from My Diary is the work of two creative teams (Polajka and NN ensemble). He was nominated for musical act of the year at the Radio head Awards. The style-creating improviser Miroslav Vitouš also performs on this album. The first single from the new album Directions&Connections is to be released on 5th September 2022 through his own record label HLAVA XXII.