Hailing from France, bassist and composer Clovis Nicolas moved to New York in the new millennium. He joined the Juilliard School in 2009 and graduated three years later with both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s of Music, having studied under bassist Ron Carter and composer Kendall Briggs.
During his career, Clovis has performed and recorded in numerous venues with some of today’s most prominent jazz musicians, such as Branford Marsalis, Curtis Fuller, Herbie Hancock, Grant Stewart, Russell Malone, Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash, Peter Bernstein, Joe Magnarelli, Simon Shaheen, Carl Allen, Jane Monheit, Dan Nimmer, Freddie Redd, Benny Golson, Marcus Gilmore, Walt Weiskopf, and others.
Clovis is featured on over thirty critically acclaimed recordings, including Belmondo’s “Hymne au Soleil” which won three Grammy Awards in 2004; Laurent Courthaliac’s “All my Life” selected “Album of the Year 2016” by the French Jazz Academy; Samora Pinderhughes’s inter-disciplinary project “The Transformations Suite”; Bruce Harris’ “Beginnings”; and Behn Gillece’s “Walk of Fire.”
In addition to those, Clovis’ band released three recordings for Sunnyside Records. His debut album Nine Stories received a selection in the “Best Albums of the Year” by DownBeat Magazine in 2014. His sophomore album Freedom Suite Ensuite, released in 2018 and featuring drummer Kenny Washington, was awarded 5 stars in Jazz Magazine. His latest album Autoportrait features Clovis in a challenging solo bass setting. It received praise from WBGO, JazzNews, Jazz Life, and a full-page feature in Le Monde, France’s number one newspaper.
