Press Coverage
'A loving connection to music can transport you to a higher place,' says jazzman Nick Adema’
The Amsterdam-based, Ottawa-raised jazz trombonist is touring Canada with his band in January 2024.
Peter Hum - Ottawa Citizen (Jan 6 2024)
It takes an especially hardy jazz musician to tour Canada in the depths of January, criss-crossing the 4,500 kilometres between Vancouver and Montreal to bring original, improvisation-rich music to the people. But trombonist Nick Adema says he’s feeling energized and inspired in advance of pulling off his most ambitious project to date.
The Ottawa-raised trombonist, 24, is based in Amsterdam, where he pursued his graduate degree in jazz. But he’ll be bringing several classmates to Canada starting Jan. 11, and supplementing his group with the brilliant New York saxophonist Noah Preminger.
Below, Adema, who will play two hometown shows near the end of his tour which moves from west to east, discusses his musical origin story and his artistic development and priorities.
demiLAN - The Whole Note
Yoshi Wall - October 28th 2021
Toronto-based composer/trombonist Nick Adema’s latest offering is teeming with originality and confidence from front to back. Everything from the writing to the execution feels like the product of an artist who is conscious of their identity.
One aspect that immediately jumps out is Adema’s astounding attention to detail. Each of his compositions contains a myriad of ideas, gradually revealing themselves over time and yet all coming together to form a satisfying whole. His melodies are intuitive enough to feel eerily familiar and yet elaborate enough to make anybody’s head spin. Much like the greats, Adema’s writing possesses immense beauty while also managing to zig where others would normally zag. Another trait of his that resembles top all-time composer/bandleaders is the rare ability to make full usage of his whole group. The effects of this tendency particularly shine through the kinetic rhythm section during the final climactic minutes of Rise, and the three-man-weave in the horn section of demiLAN.
Due to the nature of Adema’s bandleading, along with the sheer talent he assembled, the most memorable moments on the album consist of celestial synergy between musicians. One definitive instance was the combination of lyricist/vocalist Alyssa Giammaria’s deeply poignant prose and the reassuring warmth of bassist Evan Gratham’s tone on the intro of the stunning Lament for the Future to Come. Ultimately, it is due to Adema’s knack for working with these parts that the whole far exceeds the sum.
Adema/Manoukas Octet “New Roots” - Jazz Halo
Georges Tonla Briquet - May 2022
After the extremely successful demiLAN, trombonist Nick Adema and baritone saxophonist Alex Manoukas perform a new octet. Dynamics and connection with tradition are maintained. A strong introduction with crooner big band swing based on Dizzy Gillespie’s Tour De Force and ditto solos by double bass, baritone and altosaxophone. It is even more energetic in Runnin and In The Weeds. Pure big band bop. And again very strong solos. In the title track, band leaders Adema and Manoukas enrich the spicy fuel. Eastern Avenue can be used for scenes in a film noir. In the lead role this time double bass and trombone. They even venture into Round Midnight. With success thanks to the arrangement by Adema and the contribution of alto saxophonist Brenon Parmar. They transform another Monk composition (Reflections) into a melodic mid-tempo swing while they show themselves from a more experimental side in Three Step Deal. It is especially evident that Canadian trombonist, composer and arranger Nick Adema deserves worldwide recognition.deserves worldwide recognition.
Adema/Manoukas Octet “New Roots” - Midwest Record
Chris Spector - April 18th 2022
A brassy album by a new band of cats that have been playing together for years in one form or another, they merge old and new sounds in a little big band style. Respectful but not bound by tradition, this is a fun, modern-ish romp where the solos linger long after they’ve gone and the ensemble really cooks. Solid jazzbo fun times that works throughout.
Adema/Manoukas Octet “New Roots” - Shepard Express
Jamie Lee Rake - May 19th 2022
Anyone looking to get an earful of a slew of up-and-comers in Toronto's seemingly bustling jazz scene need only direct their attention to trombonist Nick Adema's and saxophonist Alex Manoukas. The A&M Octet (also rendered as the Adema Manoukas Octet) bring the brass of the bandleaders’ chosen instruments to bear in original compositions and arrangements of classics. They find a sweetly captivating spot, bringing the unified heft of a big band to bop-informed melodic explorations.
Evan Dalling's trumpet, Brenon Parmar's alto and David Hodgson’s use of tenor and soprano saxes to buttress and alternate between Manoukas’ soprano horn receive roughly equal play within New Roots’ eight expansive selections (all eight players’ talent can't be confined to a workout under six minutes long). The oases of interplay between upright bassist Leighton Harrell, pianist Josh Smiley and drummer Keith Barstow provide percussive contrast, sometimes at unpredictable intervals. The set’s introductory track reprising a Dizzy Gillespie oldie makes for a forceful statement of purpose; and the two Thelonious Monk arrangements later in the album speak to the adaptability of his melodies as well as Adema’s and Manoukas’ knowing what works can showcase their ensemble. New Roots bodes well for further swinging blossoms to come.