Nick Adema is a Canadian trombonist/composer from Ottawa. Exploring the plurality of sonic environments is Nick Adema’s forte. Using the modest nature of the slide to express his musical vigour, Nick is one of the most versatile trombonists coming out of Canada. Hailing from Ottawa, Nick quickly came onto the scene as a curious mind who embraced spontaneity and playfulness in his music. He’s a lone musical wanderer who utilizes virtuosic playing, electronic pedals, and an out of the box mentality that stores his music mentality.

Nick’s main project Urban Chaos has featured a 2024 Winter Canada wide tour featuring Noah Preminger at venues such as the Yardbird Suite, Frankie's, and Upstairs Jazz (amongst others) and masterclasses at Capilano University, the University of Toronto, and at Longy School of Music. The band also toured Europe where they play in England, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Notable venues of the tour includes Stadtgarten, Zeeland Jazz Festival, Bimhuis Café, and B-flat Berlin.

Nick is also a sideman in the Netherlands, touring the country's largest jazz venues such as North Sea Jazz, Tivoli, Lanteren Venster, Den Paard and others. Nick has called a number of prominent dutch musicians for his performances, such as Tineke Postma, Reinier Baas, Ben van Gelder and Jasper Blom. Whilst in his studies in Amsterdam and in Toronto, Nick has been the recipient of a number of awards such as the Keep an Eye International Jazz Competition (Best CvA Soloist), the Holland Scholarship, the Albert and Wilhelmine Renewable Scholarship, Tim O'Hara Jazz Scholarship, Music Fest Nationals: National Arts Center, Best Brass Player Scholarship, Capital Regional Music Festival: Music Care Scholarship, Long and McQuade Jr. Scholarship, and the Ottawa Kiwanis Music Festival -Ottawa Youth Orchestra Best Brass Player Award.

Nick currently has two records under his belt as a band leader entailed demiLAN and New Roots (with the Adema Manoukas Octet). Inspired by his mother, Nicholas used the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to create a full length album "demiLAN" (2021), in which he shows off his broad creativity as a writer, and creates a masterful performance. Coming on the heels of this set, trombonist Nick Adema has teamed up with saxophonist Alex Manoukas for a new recording project with their newly formed band the Adema Manoukas Octet. Eight Toronto all-stars that have been performing together in various combinations for years, providing an alternative perspective on the Canadian jazz sound.

"Incandescence" showed the light in 2026 under the Fresh Sound New Talent inprint with the inspiring feature of some of his fellow mates in the Netherlands, guitarist Lage Lund, altoist Ben van Gelder, and solid rhythm by Maël Idris Mercier on piano, Paddy Fitzgerald on bass and Genius Wesley on drums. 

https://www.nickadema.com/about