Born in Brussels in 1968, Nicolas Thys is an internationally acclaimed bassist, composer, and educator whose career bridges Europe and the United States. He began singing and playing piano and flute at a very young age, discovered the bass at 13, and quickly gained stage experience through frequent musical productions during his school years. After high school, he moved to Amsterdam to study at the Conservatory of Music, graduating cum laude in 1994 on both bass and flute—the highest distinction. During this period, he received several major awards, including the Europ Jazz Contest (1993) and Jazztage Leverkusen (1994), and began touring internationally. In 1996, he was awarded a Dutch government grant to study and perform in New York. While firmly rooted in jazz, Thys draws lasting inspiration from R&B, hip hop, and groove-based music.
Nicolas Thys has performed at all major international jazz festivals, including Montreal, North Sea, and Montreux, and has completed approximately fifteen tours of Japan. He has collaborated and recorded with an extraordinary range of artists, among them Lee Konitz, Mal Waldron & Jeanne Lee, Mark Turner, Ben Monder, Peter Bernstein, Dave Liebman, Toots Thielemans, Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band, Bob Brookmeyer, Jojo Mayer’s Nerve, Tomasz Stańko, Yaron Herman, Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Brazilian Girls, Zap Mama, and many others. As a featured artist with the Walter Lang Trio, he appeared on Best Album of the Year (Swing Journal, Japan, 2006). He also featured prominently on the Grammy-nominated debut recording of Brazilian Girls (Verve) and as a soloist in Kris Defoort’s opera A Time of Our Singing, premiered at La Monnaie in Brussels in 2020 (Grammy nomination for Best Opera).
From 1999 to 2007, Thys lived in New York, where he was deeply embedded in the city’s jazz scene. During this time, he performed on television with the Ben Waltzer Trio, recorded live at the Village Vanguard with the Bill Carrothers Trio, and appeared regularly on international entertainment networks. His work extends into film and theatre, including acting and composing for Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor, performing music for Love the Hard Way (starring Adrien Brody), and composing for films featuring Gérard Depardieu and Émilie Dequenne. To date, Nicolas Thys has appeared on more than 50 recordings for labels such as Warner Bros and Fresh Sound New Talent.
More information
Website: www.nicolasthys.net
Instagram: @nic_thys_bass
YouTube: Nicolas Thys
Contact: nicthys@gmail.com
Subjects: Jazz