Nick Hempton

Nick Hempton is an alto and tenor saxophonist, playing swinging jazz music for the people. A veteran of the New York scene, he fills rooms big and small throughout the city, as well as concert halls and festivals around the world. His influences include the greats of the instrument — Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley — and his style is informed by a misspent youth playing R&B and ska in his native Australia.

Growing up on the mean streets of Sydney, Hempton and the jazz school system didn’t see eye to eye. He learned to play jazz the old-fashioned way: jam sessions at local clubs and late night practice sessions on Sydney’s famous Harbour Bridge. After year at sea working on the cruise ships raised the funds for a flight, he touched down in New York City in January 2004.  

From 2005 to 2016 Hempton led The Nick Hempton Band, performing in most of the major New York venues, as well as touring regionally and internationally. With this group, Hempton released four highly-praised studio albums: "Nick Hempton Band" (self-released, 2008); "The Business" (Posi-Tone, 2011); "Odd Man Out" (Posi-Tone, 2013); and in 2015, the innovative "Catch and Release," which was recorded and released track-by-track over the course of a year. This was followed by the pared-back "Trio Stonk" (SmallsLive, 2017), recorded live at New York’s famed Smalls Jazz Club. 

In 2018, after years of flirting with the organ band format, Hempton recorded his sixth album, the organ quartet outing "Night Owl." Featuring renowned guitar ace Peter Bernstein, "Night Owl" harkens back to the classic ‘60s organ band sound. That album was such a gas, Hempton took the same band back to the same studio, and the hotly-anticipated follow-up "Slick" was released to much acclaim in November 2021.