Biography
Nathan Haines is a saxophonist and producer who has fused jazz and dance music traditions into multiple albums and collaborations over the last 30 years.
Nathan will be playing London’s Jazz Cafe with a 10 piece band on August 7 to celebrate the release of his 11th solo album “Notes” which drops worldwide on August 9. Joining him on stage will be Vanessa Freeman and a band of his closest UK collaborators and singers.
With a prolific output ranging from electronic dance based music to fully analog quartet jazz, Nathan Haines is a genre-bending musician who has an instantly recognisable sound and approach.
His albums "Squire For Hire" and "Sound Travels" both produced in London with legendary DJ/producer Phil Asher (RIP) in the early 2000's featured a vast array of collaborators and musicians including Damon Albarn, Marlena Shaw, Vanessa Freeman, Verna Francis (who sang the classic Earth is the Place) Kaidi Tatham, Mike Patto, Mark de Clive Lowe and Rich Medina with remixes by Kenny Dope (Masters at Work), Bugz in the Attic, 4Hero, Atjazz, Opolopo and many more.
Nathan’s latest release saw him team up once again with Phil before his untimely passing in 2022 - Nathan’s 2023 EP “Journey to the Peak” out of Neroli Records, Italy features three songs produced by the pair with guests spots from Vanessa Freeman, Mike Patto and keyboardist Michal Martyniuk.
Based in Auckland, New Zealand, Nathan is a headline artist at London’s Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, and he's performed at many international festivals and clubs as both a solo artist and also as a DJ. He has written, recorded and toured with US soul/jazz legend Marlena Shaw on his 2003 album “Squire For Hire” and she also guested on his 2007 album “Right Now” (released in the UK on Freestyle Records) as well as performing live with her regularly in the UK and Europe since 2001. He has also recorded and toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra – the resultant album “Life Time” features Nathan singing on three tracks with arrangements by the Grammy Award winning arranger and pianist Alan Broadbent.
Nathan is passionate about vinyl and as well as manufacturing his own album titles, he is an avid collector of original pressing albums which often find their way into his regular DJ sets.
Nathan has won New Zealand's Tui Jazz Album of the Year award three times, most recently in 2014 for his small big band/ensemble/vocal album "Vermillion Skies", as well as appearing in international publications Straight No Chaser, UK Time Out, and UK's Music Tech magazine which ran a six page special on the making of his analog straight to tape album "The Poet's Embrace".
To listen visit here:
Other collaborators include drum and bass producer A-Sides (collectively the pair are known as Sci-Clone), New Zealand based producer Chris Cox aka Frank Booker, Jamiroquai, Damon Albarn (who appeared on Squire For Hire), Marc Mac from 4 Hero, Da Lata, Mark de Clive Lowe, UK rapper Ty, DJ/Poet Rich Medina, Italian pianist Marco Di Marco, Level 42 keyboardist Mike Lindup, US drumming legend Billy Cobham and many prominent DJ’s, producers and beatmakers including Masters at Work and Louie Vega (Elements of Life).
The eldest son of jazz bassist Kevin Haines, Nathan was born into a very musical home on the North Shore of Auckland in New Zealand. Along with guitarist brother Joel, the pair alongside their father were playing major international Jazz Festivals in New Zealand by the mid 80’s.
Nathan left for studies in New York in 1991 which immersed him in the worlds of jazz, hip-hop and latin musics, all of which were to become a big part in the bands he went on to later form, and influence the records he would make.
In 1993 UK based DJ Gilles Peterson spotted Nathan playing at Auckland's legendary Cause Celebre nightclub, and suggested to the then MD of Polygram records in New Zealand that he should be signed – which he duly was. 1994 saw the release of the ground breaking “Shift Left” album by Nathan – his first as a solo artist – which blended live rhythms with analog synthesisers, strings, vocals, and turntable scratching. This album won New Zealand Jazz Record of the Year, and was certified Gold, though the final sales figure was double that. It was also released in the UK on the Verve label in 1995, the same year that saw Nathan move to London. “Shift Left” was re-released on Universal Music in 2019 as a double pack vinyl and CD with remixes by Julien Dyne, Frank Booker and P-Money.
To listen visit here:
In 1997 Nathan and drum and bass producer A-Sides (Jason Cambridge) formed the experimental cross-over production duo Sci-clone which made jazz inflected dance music for successful independent labels such as Metalheadz and Reinforced – as well as gaining an international reputation for unique, beautifully crafted drum and bass that was musical as well as hard hitting on the dancefloor.
To listen to their latest 2023 release on Metalheadz Music visit here:
Through the late 90’s Nathan teamed up with West London based producer and DJ Phil Asher and their two albums “Sound Travels” and “Squire for Hire” for dance label Chillifunk remain classics with their song “Earth is the Place” featuring Verna Francis becoming ubiquitous after its release in 2000. These albums have since been re-released and are available digitally with new remixes.
To listen visit here:
Nathan also started regularly gigging with US soul legend Marlena Shaw who sung the title track from “Squire For Hire” – propelling the tune into the record boxes of DJ’s the world over.
Other collaborators on the album included UK soul diva Vanessa Freeman, Damon Albarn in his D-2 Gorrilaz guise, US poet Rich Medina, and the best of the UK’s musicians and singers. After the success of this album Nathan guested on hundreds of records including Jamiroquai (2005’s Dynamite), 4 Hero, Mark de Clive Lowe, Reel People and with Italian pianist Marco di Marco. He also recorded a jazz album with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with arrangements by the Grammy Award winning Alan Broadbent, and successfully did a sell-out concert theatre tour in New Zealand which saw tens of thousands experiencing Nathan’s music alongside the magnificent ninety plus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hamish McKeich.
To listen visit here:
Nathan has also played many of the worlds jazz festivals and clubs including the North Sea Jazz Festival, London’s Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scotts, the Tokyo Blue Note and headlining the Java Jazz Festival.
Long term collaborator and keyboardist/producer Mike Patto teamed up with Nathan in the mid 2000’s and the pair made several records together, culminating in the analog straight to tape album “The Poet’s Embrace” released in New Zealand in 2012, and in the UK on Warner Classics and Jazz in early 2013. Nathan and his band played two sell out nights at Ronnie Scotts in late 2012, which also saw New Zealand pianist Kevin Field join the band – a first for the pair performing together outside New Zealand even though they had shared the stage since the late 1980’s. “The Poet’s Embrace” saw Nathan return to his jazz roots and as well as Nathan’s finest releases showcasing his tenor saxophone playing which is very much to the fore on this album.
Mike Patto’s production and recording skills also shine brightly on the release – originally intended for vinyl but available digitally as well – and the record was recorded straight to a late 1950’s two-track Ampex tape machine with no mixing or overdubs.
The pair collaborated again for “Vermillion Skies” which debuted at number five in the New Zealand national charts in March 2013 and was also released in Australia. Also released on limited edition vinyl, the record features Nathan singing on two vocal tracks, plus the addition of a six-piece horn section.
To listen visit here:
2014 saw Nathan release "5 A Day" co-produced with Mike Patto and featuring beats from Marc Mac (one half of UK duo 4-Hero) and New Zealand based hip-hop producer P-Money as well as the vocal talents of Vanessa Freeman and Kevin Mark Trail.
To listen visit here:
Nathan recently finished recording his 11th solo album in Auckland, New Zealand, entitled “Notes” which is due for release on August 9, 2024 via Loop Recordings in New Zealand and Australia and Kartel in the UK/Europe, with Wonderful Noise on board for distribution in Japan. “Notes” was started with Phil Asher in 2020, but with Phil’s untimely passing in 2021, Nathan was tasked with finishing what the pair had started. The result is a 13 track album ranging in scope from House to broken beat, to jazz and back again in what promises to be a classic outing for fans of quality dance music.