23 August 2024 - 0 Comments

APRA AMCOS Aotearoa are thrilled to announce jazz performer and composer Mike Nock (ONZM) will be inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame at the 2024 APRA Silver Scroll Awards on Tuesday 8 October at St James Theatre, Wellington.

From stowing away on a boat to Sydney, to winning a scholarship from Down Beat magazine to attend Berklee College of Music, to establishing himself in the American heartlands of jazz, Mike Nock’s story has always been one of fierce ambition, determination, and remarkable talent.

From Christchurch to Boston, from San Francisco to New York City, Nock’s seven-decade career has seen him play with an enormous breadth of musical luminaries including Yusef Lateef, Art Blakey, Johnny O’Keefe, Dionne Warwick, and Michael Brecker, before returning to Sydney in the 1980's, to teach at the Sydney Conservatorium. He then spent 30 years sharing his knowledge with the next generation of Australasian jazz composers and players, while balancing a prolific career of composing, recording, and touring (he has more than forty albums to his name, and over a hundred on which he has featured as a player).

Since he began taking piano lessons with his father at the age of 11, Nock’s affinity with the keys has been evident. Determined to continue his musical development after his father passed suddenly, Nock continued his lessons with Ngāruawāhia pharmacist Bert McNamara. Later, there were moves to Nelson and Wellington where he found other like-minded musicians to play with, including The Fabulous Flamingos, a Palmerston North-based dance outfit promoted by popular entertainer Johnny Cooper.

Auckland was the next stop, in 1957, where Nock developed formative relationships working with rock ‘n’ roll singer Johnny Devlin, drummer Tony Hopkins, trumpeter Kim Paterson and drummer Lachie Jamieson (who had spent time in the US playing with Sonny Rollins). Nock ultimately wanted to get to the US himself, and figured the best way might be via Sydney – leading to his stint as a stowaway.

He was 18, hungry for gigs, and quickly embedded himself in the local scene, forming The 3-Out Trio with bassist Freddie Logan and drummer Chris Karan, who became one of the most popular jazz groups in late 50's Sydney. They played relentlessly, and their 1960 EMI Columbia release, Move, sold like hotcakes.

When Nock found out he had a scholarship to Berklee, The 3-Out Trio planned a tour to England, playing for their passage, and spent a few months performing in Europe before Nock moved to Boston to study.

With little money or support, Nock was forced to hustle for gigs while studying, and quickly established himself in the local jazz scene. His undeniable talent soon found him picking up gigs with local luminaries, later becoming an integral member of Yusef Lateef’s band in the early 60's. Lateef’s band leadership, as well as their timeless post-bop improvisational jazz, was not only a profound influence on Nock, but also afforded them a not-insignificant profile in the US scene. This later provided the opportunity for Nock to form and lead his own groups once more.

Nock relocated to the West Coast and in 1967 formed The Fourth Way, an American jazz quartet who played primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area through the early 70's, releasing three albums to critical acclaim - predominantly composed by Nock - for the rock division of Capitol Records. The group’s first LP, from 1969, grew to be considered a sampler’s secret paradise - with pilfered breakbeats and flourishes from the release later appearing in the 90's and 00's work of many era-defining DJs, such as Diplo.

The Fourth Way are celebrated as early pioneers of fusion jazz groups, mixing jazz with rock music while playing amplified instruments. Group high points include playing the prestigious 1970 Montreux Jazz Festival as well as performing as the opening act for Miles Davis’ group. The Fourth Way was on fire that night and Davis found himself upstaged by the young San Francisco group, with Davis reportedly lamenting, “Man, I’m never going on second again.”

Nock moved to New York in the mid-1970's where he stayed for the next ten years, releasing Magic Mansions (with Charlie Mariano), In, Out and Around (with Michael Brecker), Climbing (with John Abercrombie and Tom Harrell), Succubus (with Alex Foster) as well as two solo albums: Piano Solos and Mike Nock Solo (recorded in Australia). A standout release from this period is his trio record, Ondas, released on storied jazz label ECM.

His return to the Antipodes in the mid-80's did nothing to slow down his creative output, with a successful Sydney teaching career accompanying multiple releases with The New York Jazz Collective, as well as albums with young Australian and Aotearoa musicians.

The sheer scope of writing for his trio, big band, and chamber groups is substantial, as well as solo piano pieces recorded by Australian virtuosi Michael Kieran Harvey and Simon Tedeschi, as well as New Zealander Michael Houstoun. During this period, Nock somehow found the time to record a series for TVNZ, Nock On Jazz, platforming the genre and its luminaries to a domestic television audience. He also did a stint as music director of Naxos Jazz from 1996 to 2002, overseeing the production of more than sixty internationally released albums.

Nock has already received a variety of appropriate accolades – Best Jazz Album at the NZ Music Awards in 1987, appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to jazz in 2003, inducted into the Australian Jazz Hall of Fame in 2009, presented with the Don Banks Music Award in Australia in 2014 – but his impact on the landscape of music, and in particular jazz in Aotearoa is undeniable, and we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to celebrate Nock’s enduring influence and incredible body of work.

Anthony Healey, Head of APRA AMCOS Aotearoa, says: “Mike’s achievements, which very much continue today, are that of a much-celebrated performer, collaborator, musician, pianist, composer and educator. His talents are many and varied and the unifying strand that runs through them all is the single-minded dedication he has made to his craft.

Mike has been an inspiration. He has shown people that creativity, and in particular music, is a universal language. He's taken that message from here to around the world, leading the way for New Zealand artists everywhere, encouraging and empowering them to do the same.

To his fellow musicians here in Aotearoa, Mike shows enduring generosity and support. He leads by example as an artist, with a call to arms that is enduringly passionate. We can’t think of a better person to celebrate and honour as an example of what has made our musical landscape what it is, and an example of what we can all aspire to.”

At 84, Nock is still going strong. His most recent album, Hearing, released in 2023, is a testament to his continued contemporary jazz prowess, while also finding time to contribute to a future documentary, and, as ever, looking forward to a slew of upcoming live performances in the calendar.

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