nick kellie
adjunct faculty (guitar)
The highly-touted guitarist Nick Kellie was born in Lancashire, England, where he won several awards for his guitar prowess and received a Certificate in Popular Music Performance from the London College of Music before moving to the United States.
Nick’s debut record For A Brother was heard by guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, who contacted Nick personally to sign Nick and release the album on his label imprint, Digital Nations. In 2005, Nick recorded a special live show for BBC Radio 2 and was awarded the BBC Big Band Jazz Awards’ John Dankworth Trophy for Outstanding Young Soloists. During this period, Nick also toured the world as the guitarist with The Three Degrees, who recorded the hit song When Will I See You Again?
Currently, you can find Nick playing second guitar and singing backing vocals in Frank Gambale’s Soulmine. Gambale is a Grammy-winning guitarist known for his incendiary work in the Chick Corea Elektric Band. In Soulmine, Nick has had the opportunity to play many great venues around the world including the London O2 Arena and the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in New York City, Nick has also appeared with his own band.
Nick is also a contributor to the world’s bestselling guitar magazine Guitar Player and has taught at Musicians Institute in Hollywood as well as at Jamplay.com where he has contributed lessons and held online live Q&A sessions since 2009. Nick is proud to be a part of California College of Music’s faculty in guitar performance.