A highly regarded jazz pianist,
Dave Kikoski is an in-demand session player and bandleader known for his adept post-bop style. Emerging in the 1980s,
Kikoski quickly established himself as a go-to performer working with a bevy of top-notch artists like
Roy Haynes,
Billy Hart,
Randy Brecker, and others. As evidence of his strong reputation, he also joined the hard bop supergroup
Opus 5, appearing alongside saxophonist
Seamus Blake and trumpeter
Alex Sipiagin. He has also won fans with his own sophisticated trio albums, many for the Criss Cross label, like 2000's
Inner Trust with
John Patitucci and
Jeff "Tain" Watts, and 2017's
Kayemode with bassist
Joe Martin and drummer
Justin Faulkner.
Born in Milltown, New Jersey, in 1961,
Kikoski grew up in a musical family with a father who also played jazz piano, and who first taught him how to play around age six. By his teens, he was a gifted performer, gigging around town and winning the New Jersey All State Jazz Competition. After high school, he studied at Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in piano performance. During his time in Boston, he continued to gig often, engaging with various jazz luminaries including guitarist
Pat Metheny, who sat in with the pianist's band. In the mid-'80s,
Kikoski relocated to New York City, where he quickly found work live and in the studio, including an early album made with
Randy Brecker, playing alongside
Joe Henderson,
Ron Carter, and
Al Foster. There were also sessions with
Roy Haynes,
Ralph Moore,
Bob Berg, and others. As a leader,
Kikoski debuted with 1989's
Presage, a trio date featuring bassist
Eddie Gomez and drummer
Al Foster. The
Walter Becker-produced Persistent Dreams followed two years later and featured a more robust ensemble with trumpeter
Brecker,
Alex Acuña, and
Billy Hart.
He then signed with Epic and released the well-regarded 1994 trio date Dave Kikoski with drummer
Foster and bassist
Essiet Essiet. However, beginning with 1998's
Inner Trust,
Kikoski established a lasting relationship with the Criss Cross label and issued a steady stream of primarily trio-based albums, including 2000's
Almost Twilight, 2002's
Combinations, and 2004's
Details. These albums found him working often with regular associates bassist
Larry Grenadier and drummers
Bill Stewart and
Jeff "Tain" Watts. There were also dates with luminaries like
Joe Locke,
Brian Lynch,
Ingrid Jensen,
Ravi Coltrane,
Chris Potter, and
Conrad Herwig, as well with the jazz covers band
Beatlejazz.
Kikoski returned to his own work with 2006's
Limits, featuring saxophonist
Seamus Blake.
In 2009, he delivered
Mostly Standards, featuring drummer
Watts and bassist
Eric Revis. Live at Smalls appeared the following year, and caught him in concert at the New York club alongside bassist
Hans Glawischnig and drummer
Obed Calvaire. He then paired again with
Watts and bassist
Christian McBride for
Consequences on Criss Cross. Also during this period,
Kikoski joined the all-star jazz outfit
Opus 5, appearing on such albums as 2012's
Pentasonic and 2014's
Progression.
From the Hip, an adventurous session (recorded in 2006) with saxophonist
Bob Sheppard, drummer
Gary Novak, and bassist
Dave Carpenter (who died shortly after) appeared in 2013. Second Phase followed a year later. In 2017,
Kikoski delivered
Kayemode with bassist
Joe Martin and drummer
Justin Faulkner. Phoenix Rising arrived in 2019 and found the pianist joined by tenor saxophonist
Eric Alexander. ~ Matt Collar