Nicola Stilo

Nicola Stilo (born 1956 in Italy), is a jazz and pop instrumentalist, specialising in flute and guitar.

Stilo began following Chet Baker in 1979, attending his concerts and recording sessions.[1] Baker took him as part of his band for a tour of Italy the following year,[2] and on subsequent tours,[3] including to Brazil in 1985.[4] After the last, Stilo stayed in Brazil for around a year before reuniting with Baker.[5] Despite discouragement from Baker, who was a long-term drug addict, Stilo by this time had become addicted to heroin.[5] Back together in Europe, Stilo commented: "Maybe I made the choice just to live the same life he was doing, you know? [...] We were like brothers, maybe sometimes fighting, but really taking care of each other."[6] They continued to play together, with Stilo on flute and guitar.[6] Stilo wrote the music for Baker's 1988 album Chet on Poetry; it "ranged from slick Europop to funk to a graceful jazz waltz".[7] He also played on the album.[7] He appeared on film in the 1988 documentary Let's Get Lost.[8] After Baker's death later that year, Stilo gave up heroin.[9]

Stilo subsequently recorded with Toninho Horta[10] and with his own group.[11]