Iles is one of the most refreshing and promising figures to have emerged in the UK in recent times,with a liquid sound and supple,obliquely resolved phrasing as an improviser...... (The Guardian)

.....And Iles is a skillful improviser,although this is often eclipsed by her own bigger scale composition.But at London's Vortex on the opening show of a 14 date tour,Iles displayed the rhythmic suprises,shape shifting phrases,playful dialogue with partners and a mix of ruggedness and reflection that at times make her comparable with the great John Taylor. (The Guardian)

An intriguingly varied and very original programme and one which marked Iles as an arranger of considerable talent and as a gifted composer. (The Times-review from the Purcell Room)

CD REVIEWS

Everything I Love with Duncan Hopkins and Anthony Michelli (Basho SRCD 5 - 2)

"You'll struggle to find Nikki Iles in the jazz reference books, but the Bedfordshire-born pianist has been a discreetly eloquent presence on the UK scene since the 1990s - often as an accompanist, whose understated, Bill Evans-inflected phrasing would generally be devoted to coaxing expressiveness out of others, but at the same time leave you wanting to hear more of her. Iles recorded a number of albums after 1996 with saxophonists Stan Sulzmann and Martin Speake and singer Tina May, but this trio disc, under her leadership, represents the clearest opportunity yet to hear her musicality in full flow.
It's a largely conventional acoustic jazz piano set, recorded with Canadians Duncan Hopkins (bass) and Anthony Michelli (drums). The repertoire includes Cole Porter and the Gershwins, two Bill Evans and two John Taylor pieces. The relationships within the trio are fluid and alert - at times the band suggests a more swinging version of Brad Mehldau approach, if without Mehldau's contrapuntal genius.

The context may be familiar, but the sharpness of the execution and the sense of purpose certainly aren't. Hear Iles's ringing, Paul Bley-like chords on her thundering original Fly's Dilemma, the rhythm section's urgent insistence under the title track, the pianist's mesmerising riff-dance on John Taylor's Ambleside Days, or the tender overlaying of harmonies and chord voicings on Bill Evans's Your Story. A formidable UK jazz presence rising to her full height" John, Fordham, The Guardian 4 stars Feb 2004.

Treasure Trove with Stan Sulzmann (ASC)

"For me,this is one of the albums of the year" (John Critchinson Music Magazine)

Veteran British reedman Stan Sulzmann teams here with pianist Nikki Iles to offer a set of dulcet duets.Sulzmann's main horn is tenor,and his sweet melancholy sound meshes well with Iles' pretty,ringing tone.The duo sounds free and experienced with each other,engaging in near unison playing in parts.The music's center is the lyrical saxophone/piano conversations between Sulzmann and Iles,which the closing MTL is an unsurpassed example.They offer music that's both pretty and beautiful,but never syrupy,cloying or sentimental . (Crescendo Magazine USA)

Pianist Nikki Iles produces an absorbing performance on Treasure Trove,a duet with master saxophonist Stan Sulzmann - a marvellous meeting of musical minds.There can be few recordings that capture so well Stan Sulzmann's ability to conjure up long,sinuous melodic lines,and Nikki Iles contributes immensely to the process as accompanist,composer and compelling soloist in her own right. (Jazz UK Magazine)

This is a quiet,exquisite duo album.Three of the compositions are by Iles and reveal her great melodic gifts and the singing subtlety of her fine touch,the sonorities and her flow.Five of the compositions are by Sulzmann,and as a player and composer he has similar poetic qualities to Iles,which is why the music they make together is so ecstatic. (The Rough Guide To Jazz)

Snap Foolish Hearts with Steve Berry,Paul Clarvis and Anthony Kerr.

There's a strong pianistic presence here in the latest edition of Steve Berry's Foolish Hearts .Their latest CD is "Snap" and is mainly an exploration of several of Steve's engrossing compositions.Some wonderful playing here,with the interplay between the musicians a consistant delight. (Jazz UK Magazine )

Change of sky with Tina May(33 Jazz)

Change of Sky,a cloistered sequence of duets with pianist Nikki Iles,marks another step into the unknown,promting May's most mature singing so far.Iles is a very impressive accompanist,her haunting chords helping to turn Come Rain or Come Shine a darker shade of blue. (The Times)

...........Iles and May were the highlight of the Brecon Jazz Festival.(Jazz UK Magazine)

Don't Ask The Geoff Simkins quartet with Simon Woolf and Martin France (Symbol SR19991201)

...........lovely,well constructed interplay between Simkins and the Bill Evans-like piano of Nikki Iles resulting in a peek of what a Bill Evans,rather than a Dave Brubeck quartet featuring Paul Desmond would have sounded like:even more thoughtful than the Brubeck group.This album is highly recommended. (The All Music Guide )

One Fine Day with Tina May and Alan Barnes (33Jazz 50)

.......Iles,who often performs in duet with May,is a superb accompanist-sensitive to dynamics,developing the undercurrents of a harmony with unobtrusive audacity,prodding rhythmically where the absent drummer might,and soloing out of the immediate context rather than dumping her personal statement on the landscape. (The Guardian)

Secret with Martin Speake,Duncan Hopkins and Anthony Michelli (Basho SRCD3 - 2)

................it's acoustic quartet playing a very long way up the league. (The Guardian)

"When four jazz musicians manage to record almost 80 minutes of memorable music in five hours straight, it's likely that magic was in the air. This set was put together in October 2000 at the end of a UK tour for the quartet led by alto saxophonist Martin Speake and pianist Nikki Iles, and it has precisely the open fluency you might expect when four sophisticated improvisers have had plenty of chances to figure out how their partners tick. Speake, the UK's Lee Konitz in his bop-rooted expressiveness, and the formidably creative Iles are joined by Canadians Duncan Hopkins on bass and Anthony Michelli on drums. Most of the compositions are originals, with Antonio Carlos Jobim's Luiza and the standard The Thrill Is Gone, on which Speake plays with a resigned spaciousness and haunting evocativeness of tone. But for all its coolness, this set doesn't lack strength or vigour - as you can hear on Hopkins' cool-boppish Oncology and on Iles's cop-show groover Fly's Dilemma. Not music to blow you out of your socks, nor intended to - but very intelligent, sharp and very musical". John Fordham, The Guardian 8th February 2002.

"Secret is an album of jazz of a very high order from a group that puts to shame many much-hyped American bands." Andrew Vine, Yorkshire Post 13th April 2002

"...such an assured, absorbing set of music that it compels the listener whatever the tempo.." Chris Sheridan, Jazz Review - April 2002

"..modest little gem of intelligent but highly approachable small-band music." Dave Gelly, The Observer March 2002 (album of the week March 2002)

"Martin Speake plays some of the most gorgeous alto sax sounds in contemporary jazz…What is most impressive about the album is how four members of this brand new partnership are so finely attuned to each other's musical minds and nimble fingers." Phil Ehrensaft - The Whole Note, Canada, October 2002

" An album equally strong on melody and harmony, rhythmic intricacies and broadly phrased beautifully "breathing" passages…..spacious cross-rhythms and purposive drive, distilled reflection and cooking swing distinguish this excellent, superbly recorded release." Michael Tucker. Jazz Journal Dec 2002

Romancing Scott Hamilton with The Tina May Quartet (Linn Records AKD202)

It is difficult to know where to start with this beautiful piece of work.Everything about it is so well conceived that the result is quite outstanding...... (CD of the week,The Observer) (CD of the week,The Evening Standard)