Biography

Nikko Ielasi was born in Ischia, a small island in the south of Italy, on May 23rd, 1992. He started playing piano at the age of 7, approaching music as just a hobby. Once he turned 13, he decided to take private lessons for both Jazz and Classical training. At 16, he first landed in Boston (MA) to attend the 5-Week Summer Program at Berklee College of Music. That experience opened the doors to a completely different musical world and, quite simply, changed his life. After graduating high school, Nikko was granted an important scholarship, to attend Berklee as an under-grad student. He moved to the U.S. in 2011 and went on to graduate "Magna Cum Laude" in December 2015, with a double major in "Piano Performance" and "Contemporary Writing & Production". The years at Berklee allowed Nikko to consolidate his unique sound. Coming from a Jazz background, he was then influenced by more contemporary genres. He was able to develop a brand new style, in which the improvisational language of the jazz tradition meets the harmonic and rhythmic landscape of NeoSoul, RnB and Gospel. Nikko is also a prolific writer, arranger/producer and he specializes in writing for horns, strings, orchestras and different ensemble settings. His original project "NikKollective" is the perfect canvas for all his creative ideas. On August 16th, 2019, Nikko woke up suddenly and irreversibly deaf on his right side. One year later, on August 16th, 2020, he released “Rebirth (The Trio Suite)”.