Nicolas Meier

Born in Switzerland in 1973, Meier began guitar lessons at twelve, completing part of his training at the Fribourg Conservatoire. Early listening drew on jazz, classical, flamenco, rock and Latin styles, later extending to music from the Middle East, particularly Turkey, his wife’s native country. He assembled the group No Miss No Mess, which appeared at Swiss venues such as the Festival du Locle and received the Rock BPS award for Best Musician; the band also toured Italy and France. Meier issued solo recordings and collaborated with Max Jendly’s Big Band Du Conservatoire Fribourg. His arranging teachers were Jendly and Francy Boland. Guitar inspirations named by Meier include Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin and flamenco artist Tomasito, while additional jazz figures he cites encompass Chick Corea.

Meier enrolled at Berklee College of Music in the United States in 1994. Returning to Switzerland, he established the Meier Group and performed with it at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the early 2000s he settled in London, where he concentrated on jazz club work and contributed to several recording sessions. Core personnel in his London ensemble have been saxophonists Gilad Atzmon, Dave O’Higgins and Rob Laver, bassist Tom Mason and drummer Asaf Sirkis. He has also performed with the nu-metal outfit Avoidance Of Doubt. Active in teaching, Meier serves as guitar instructor at Goldsmith’s University and at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford; he has written instructional volumes such as Heavy Metal Part 1: Rhythm Guitar and Jazz Part 1: Chord Tones. His classical recordings include Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’.