The Bryan Nichols Quintet is JT Bates, Sophia Kickhofel, Jake Baldwin, Dan Carpel, and Bryan Nichols.

Jake Baldwin is one of the busiest freelance trumpet players in the Midwest. You can hear him with groups ranging from the iconic Four Freshmen to the Minnesota Orchestra. In 2023, Jake won a Grammy for his contributions to the video game Assassin’s Creed: Ragnarok. His most recent release, Misc. Items on the Shifting Paradigm record label, was hailed by DownBeat magazine as one of their "Best Releases Of 2023."

Growing up in a musical family gave JT Bates an early start into sound and rhythmic exploration. He set on the path to becoming a working musician while playing in his father’s big band as a teen. Over the years, he remained steeped in the improvised music scene, both as a performer and presenter. In 2015, he produced and released his first solo album, “Open Relationships” (Totally Gross National Product), and in 2021, he released an album called “Not Other Stuff.” As a session drummer, JT has appeared on Grammy record of the year “Folklore” (Taylor Swift) and Swift’s follow-up album, “Evermore.” He has also performed on the Grammy-nominated album “s/t”(Bonny Light Horseman) and critically acclaimed records by Bon Iver, Big Red Machine, Cassandra Jenkins, The National, Maya Hawke, and Ed Sheeran.

Dan Carpel attended Berklee College of Music, where he was in the school’s Monterey Quartet. He was a member of Jason Palmer’s band throughout his time in town, and was a mainstay in their residency at Wally’s Jazz Cafe. His time out east also notably included playing in Godwin Louis’ groups. Since relocating to the Twin Cities, Dan has regularly worked with Javi Santiago, Zacc Harris, and Omar Abdulkarim. He frequently performed with singer/guitarist Mary Cutrufello as well as Sonny Knight and the Lakers, and he recently became a part of Dylan Hicks’s Small Screens.

Sophia Kickhofel is an alto saxophonist from Apple Valley, MN. She started studying classical saxophone at the age of 10 and began learning jazz music at 13. Sophia started to study solely jazz saxophone once she entered high school. During Sophia’s time in high school, she studied and performed with national honor bands, including NYO Jazz and the National Association for Music Education Jazz Band, and received national awards, including YoungArts Finalist and the Irv Williams Fellowship. Sophia has performed across the Midwest with bands including her quartet and quintet. Sophia currently attends the Juilliard School in New York City, where she studies with bassist Ben Wolfe and saxophonist Bruce Williams. During her time in New York, she has had the opportunity to perform alongside Sean Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ulysses Owens Jr., and Victor Goines at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, Lincoln Center Shanghai, and Dizzy’s Jazz Club. Sophia strives to compose and perform music that evokes empathy within and community among audiences.

Bryan Nichols is a pianist, composer, and educator based in Minneapolis. Often found playing jazz and improvised music, but at home in a variety of musical worlds, he leads and composes for his own trio, quintet, and nonet, in addition to performing, recording, and touring with a variety of forward-thinking artists. The Star Tribune has called him “a versatile, daring and inventive keyboardist...one of the Twin Cities' most respected jazz players.” He is a recipient of a prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Performing Artists and a residency at the Kennedy Center for Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead program. Bryan has released two albums as a leader to critical and audience acclaim, an original solo piano work, Looking North, and a suite of originals for his quintet, Bright Places.