Sat, Mar 14 Nicki Denner

Pianist/composer/tap dancer Nicki Denner has played with such diverse artists as Sheila E., Michele Lee, Doc Severinsen, Randy Brecker, KJ Denhert and Savion Glover. She has released three recordings, El Médico de Coquí featuring Julian Llanos (2005), Moliendo Café (2008) and Daydream (2014). She is currently recording two new albums featuring mostly original music for voice, piano trio and jazz quartet to be released in 2026. As a co-leader, she has recorded with the New Jazz Quartet-Tall Grass (2009) and the Nocturno Project -Marhala (2021). She has composed for solo classical piano, animated film and the New Jersey Tap Ensemble of which she was assistant music director and music director for 20 years. Since 2005, she has been the musical director of the band Cocomama, an internationally renown all woman Latin jazz collective which has released 3 albums, Quiero (2015), Woman’s World (2022) and Evolucion (2025), which all feature original works inspired by the music of the Americas.

She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the United Nations, Studio 54, the Apollo Theatre, Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Marathon, the Guatemala City International Jazz Festival, the Jazz Cabaret Festival in Ketchikan, Alaska and as a musical ambassador for the State Department in Latin America. 

As an educator, she has served on the faculty of the Stanford University Summer Jazz Workshop, Campamento Internacional de Jazz in Guatemala, Jazzhouse Kids, the New York City Tap Festival and the New Jersey Tap Festival. She is also a contributor to Keyboard Magazine. As a tap dancer, she has performed and recorded with the Ed Palermo Big Band specializing in works by Frank Zappa.

*Please note: There is a 2-hour limit at each table. Additional time at the table is contingent upon availability.