Nick Payne is an American jazz pianist, educator, arranger, and composer. His wide-ranging creative work and research has enabled him to travel to 25 countries worldwide, performing and teaching jazz. A current Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas, Payne’s research encompasses jazz studies, musical interaction, African American studies, global traditions of improvisation, as well as the music and culture of the Iberian peninsula and Brazil. Payne holds a master’s degree in jazz composition from the University of North Texas as well as a bachelor’s degree in jazz piano performance from Loyola University New Orleans. His most recent publication is titled “The Musicality of Birds: From Charles Darwin to Hermeto Pascoal” and was published in the latest issue of Jazz Education in Research and Practice. Nick is available to hire for private lessons, clinics, live performances, and commissioned compositions.