Nikos Kapilidis was born in Xanthi in 1955. His first musical influences and his first encounter with jazz, came at the age of eight years old at his father’s record store. Then he attended music lessons for bouzouki, accordion, trumpet, flute, piano and theory and at the age of thirteen he started playing drums with various pop and rock bands.

For several years he was a member of the "Family band" with his father and his brothers playing Greek traditional music. He studied drums with Stelios Fotakis, Alexandros Christidis, Mickey Earnshaw, Max Mariash, Julian Vaughan and Takis Barbas. He has also attended classses with Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Louie Bellson and Roy Burns (drummer).
Some of the bands he has formed or been a member are the Electric Jazz Trio, Serious Fun, Ebnus Jazz Quintet and The Jazz Utopia.

He has played with many Greek musicians, as well as artists from around the world, such as Mike Stern, Scott Kinsey, Tony Lakatos, Danny Hayes, Manny Boyd, John Stabblefield and Milcho Leviev.

He died in June, 2022.