Pianist and composer Nancy Walker has been recognized with honours Canada-wide, including the Montréal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz, the National Jazz Awards Keyboardist Of The Year, a JUNO nomination for Instrumental Album Of The Year (Rainy Days And Mondays, 2006), and an induction into the Mississauga Music Walk Of Fame. A dynamic improviser, an artful composer and a responsive accompanist, Nancy has been praised both for her work as a solo artist and as a musical collaborator. As a side player she can be heard on a wide range of jazz recordings, including Sarah Jerrom’s 2025 JUNO-nominated Magpie.
Nancy’s musical scope extends beyond the jazz genre. As a composer of contemporary choral music, she was commissioned to compose the music for FIRST, a musical theatre production in collaboration with The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Later, the Mississauga Children’s Choir commissioned Nancy to adapt one of the songs from FIRST for their senior choir. Earlier in her career Nancy worked extensively as a side musician with many artists outside the jazz idiom, including Raffi, Sylvia Tyson, Roger Whittaker and The Parachute Club.
Nancy has several discs to her credit as leader; her most recent is ‘Deeper Down’, featuring eight of her original compositions, reflecting her love of nature, her pull toward the cinematic, and her view of the age we live in.