Big Nick Nicholas

George Walker "Big Nick" Nicholas (August 2, 1922 – October 29, 1997) was an American jazz saxophonist and singer.

Career Nicholas started playing with Hank and Thad Jones, Earl Hines, and Tiny Bradshaw before joining the U.S. army, and, on being discharged in the late 1940s, he worked with bands led by Sabby Lewis, J. C. Heard, and Lucky Millinder. He went on to play with Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus.

Nicholas contributed the 16-bar solo to Dizzy Gillespie's classic Afro-Cuban jazz piece "Manteca" (1947).

Strongly influenced by his hero, Coleman Hawkins, Nicholas in turn influenced a young John Coltrane to compose his tribute "Big Nick", included on the 1962 album Duke Ellington & John Coltrane.

Nicholas lived for a few years in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before returning to New York. In the 1980s, he released two albums under his own name, "Big and Warm" (1983), and "Big Nick" (1985), both on the India Navigation label.

Nicholas died of heart failure on October, 29, 1997, at the age of 75.