You can feel the love, joy and fun that shines through the music of this professional duo. Nick’s amazing keyboard skills and Judy’s mellow vocals make the Great American Songbook jazz standards come to life! Romantic ballads, up-tempo swing, bossa nova, blues (and occasionally even a country tune or two) appeal to a wide audience.
Nick and Judy met in January, 2013, and three weeks later had their first gig at a Valentine Dance. The joyful, jazzy wedding followed in September. Now in 2020, they are still performing and inspiring appreciative listeners in Island and Skagit counties of beautiful northwest WA.
“Nick” Nicholai has been playing piano all his life. By age six, he played pipe organ. He went on to earn a Doctorate in Music from Michigan State University at age eighteen; then decided he would rather perform than teach. After touring with many jazz swing bands, including Louis Armstrong, Paul Desmond, and other big band musicians, Nick made his home base on Whidbey Island, WA in the 70’s. Nick did clinics and concerts for organ dealers many years in the Midwest and was a consultant on the design of the Hammond X66 organ. He has worked as a studio musician and continues to perform throughout the area and to arrange music in his Carousel Recording Studio near Oak Harbor. He is thrilled to have found such an easy-to-work-with and thoroughly capable musical partner!
Judy Sjerven has been singing all her life. After earning a B. A. in Music Education from San Diego State, she taught public school music for several years, conducted church and community choirs four decades, and performed as a soloist. She toured with the Hutchinson Family Singers, a professional quintet that recreated the Civil War Era group in concerts on the East Coast and Midwest. Judy gave 100 performances in Minnesota and the Dakotas of her original one-woman multi-media show “America, This is Your Life!” which combined folksongs with paintings on slides telling American history. Judy has sung folk music with guitar, serious music with orchestras, leading roles in community theater musicals, and now is overjoyed to finally have the opportunity to sing jazz with a great piano player!
Judy also loves to paint landscapes in pastel. Visit her art website at www.judysjervenart.com