Nicholas Payton has his kind of blue

By Calvin Wilson
11/01/2009
Nicholas Payton has to be on the short list of the finest living jazz trumpeters. Early in his career, he was a protégé of fellow New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis. But Payton has long since established himself as an esteemed artist in his own right, recording a string of strong albums — including several for the legendary Verve label. Payton's most recent disc, last year's "Into the Blue" (Nonesuch), is among his best. Of particular interest is a splendid rendition of the theme from the classic 1974 film "Chinatown." In a recent interview, Payton, 36, talked about his life in jazz.

Q: Are you continuing to tour on behalf of "Into the Blue"?
A: Somewhat. We still do quite a few tunes from it, but I'm sort of in transition because I'm working on a new record. So we're incorporating that material, as well as some other things that we do, because it works well for a live show.

Q: Who'll be in your band at the Sheldon?
A: It'll be Taylor Eigsti on piano and Fender Rhodes, Vicente Archer on bass, Nate Smith on drums and Daniel Sadownick on percussion.

Q: New Orleans has a rich jazz tradition and an impressive reputation for jazz trumpeters, from Louis Armstrong to Wynton Marsalis. Did living in New Orleans influence you to pursue your career?
A: Certainly. And probably most influential was the fact that I have musical parents. My father plays bass, and my mother is a pianist and former operatic singer.

Q: Your 2001 album, "Dear Louis," was a tribute to Armstrong. How much of an influence has his music been on yours?
A: Well, he redefined the art of jazz improvisation as we know it. There were a few greats before him, but he summed up everything that came before and pointed the way to that which would follow. So his importance and influence is key to not only my playing but to music, period. In any category. American music, or just music, wouldn't sound as it does today without the presence of Louis Armstrong.

Q: "Sonic Trance" (2003) was something of a departure from the traditional jazz for which you'd been known up to that time, incorporating elements of hip-hop and electronica. What would you say is the relationship between that album and "Into the Blue"?
A: "Sonic Trance" was like walking on the moon for the first time — everything is wide open, and it's new. "Into the Blue" is more surefooted — like, OK, I know what those ideas are. It's like an answer to the question that "Sonic Trance" poses.
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