Q&A: (Nick Payton)

Born in 1973 to an opera singer-pianist and a jazz bassist, Nicholas Payton most likely possessed a musical propensity flowing through his veins long before he ever picked up the trumpet.
As a native of what many consider the birthplace of jazz -- New Orleans -- Payton fulfills just one of many fascinating traditions setting the city apart from others. It's the assembly of noteworthy and in some cases, the best trumpeters in the history of jazz. Buddy Boldin, Louis Armstrong, Leroy Jones, Wynton Marsalis and Terrence Blanchard all hailed from New Orleans; and Payton followed suit when he began playing the horn at the age of 4.

With his parents' vast record collection always within an arm's length, Payton unearthed the diverse and powerful world of music not only as a player but also as a listener. He eventually enrolled at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and later studied with Ellis Marsalis (Wynton's piano-playing father) at the University of New Orleans. The young player then went on to perform and record with some of the biggest names in jazz including Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, Clark Terry and Jimmy Smith.


Payton embarked on a solo career as a bandleader in 1995 with his debut album "From This Moment" and 1996's "Gumbo Nouveau." That same year, Payton portrayed Oran "Hot Lips" Page in Robert Altman's film "Kansas City." In 1997, the then-24-year-old earned a Grammy for the Best Solo Jazz Performance category. Since 1998, Payton has recorded four albums, including "Dear Louis," (a tribute to Louis Armstrong) and his latest "Sonic Trance," (2003, Warner Brothers Jazz).

Wy: I've noticed you're now using various electronic gadgets on the trumpet so you're able to loop baselines and create some really interesting effects. I know (tenor saxophonist) Joshua Redman is also using similar devices. Do you think this is becoming more of a trend among the younger jazz players?

Payton: For me, it's been something I've been doing for a number of years, but I just started touring with it. Yeah, I guess a lot of cats nowadays are appending these electronic gadgets to their instruments. For me it's just about expanding and giving me a wider range of colors in terms of my instrument. Since technology has allowed us to be able to experiment with these different things, it has given me a whole new voice or a subtle voice if you will. I'm just having a lot of fun experimenting with all the cool things you can get out with these sound modules.

During your last tour on the West Coast, you played a show specifically geared toward kids. Do you play an active role as a music educator?

I try to be as active as I can be. I'm a performer first and foremost, and I think that education is a part of that for me being in an informal setting or more formal situations. I always love working with kids because to me that's where the future of the music is, not only in terms of building future musicians, but I think it's a good idea to have children exposed to this music. They are bombarded with so many other things. They see other forms of music that are obviously more popular than jazz and I don't think anything is wrong with that. I think that's great, but I just want to take the opportunity to present something different to them. I just don't believe the hype that jazz is only for older people and it doesn't appeal to kids. I think that if it's presented in a correct way then kids can feel a part of it. I think without cultivating that young audience, we are sort of cutting ourselves off at the foot.

The songwriting process for every musician is different. How would you describe the process of writing your original pieces?

It's worked several different ways over the years. I feel that early on, in the formative years, I was trying to establish a voice compositionally much like we musicians do when we improvise as soloists. I didn't like anything I wrote in the early years, but it was just a matter of writing through that by bringing in tunes when I was in college and bringing in tunes when I had a band. It was a way to hear my music played back to me and to use the experience as a workshop to decide what I liked and didn't like.

So has the process become easier?

Well, you develop a style and it becomes a more natural experience where you actually let the music flow through you. Sometimes you get trapped inside those boxes, but still it just happens and you don't know how it happens, but because of your expertise, your experience and your will to create something of importance, it just all locks in.

What was the process like with this latest record?

With the release of this new record, I figured something out. I've been dealing with something new in terms of composing by taking all of those elements I have known. I think in the past, when you're young and you're learn all of these new things, you want to implement them all at once, all on one tune. You want to use all of the harmony and all of the notes you can use. This new record, it was a lesson in restraint. You know all of this stuff, but by sometimes giving a little hint, you can imply more and leave more to the listener's ear. It's when you put all that you know onto a song, there's less room for interpretation. So what I tried to do here is make the themes very short and concise, and make less of a framework.

I then assume the philosophy behind this process overflows into a live performance.

Yes. Knowing that I have skilled musicians who are great improvisers has allowed them to make the tune happen. The piece can take a different form and shape every night as opposed to being locked into a particular groove, tempo or key. It's really been rewarding because it's a new way of composing. The actual composition becomes an improvisation rather than the composition just being a vehicle to get to that improvisation. So in that way, the whole set is improvised. We (band) all have an understanding of these musical cues and themes, and anything can happen at any time. It's another level of experimentation I'm having fun with.
So then do you think you've adopted the approach of Duke Ellington in that you're writing pieces geared toward specific bandmates aimed at bringing out the best in their playing?
I think so and I think on my previous record, "Nick at Night," it was really like that with specific lines and pieces for each individual. But I think on this last record, "Sonic Trance," there is also something else where I don't have parts for musicians anymore. There's just a scale or a basic framework of a theme and they develop their own parts. There are obviously certain parts I have for everybody on certain things, so it sounds like a uniform body of work and not like we are meandering on the stage. But for the most part, it has become a vibe thing. As opposed to playing tunes, I think we are now playing moods. I think it's always for greater freedom but also allows for greater failure. If we're not listening to each other and we're not responsive to one another, then nothing would happen. In this form that we are dealing with now, you really have nothing to rely on but your focus, concentration and your willingness to give of yourself. It's incredible what can happen when you do that.

You've played the trumpet since the age of 4. In looking back, what kind of specific encounters did you experience that shaped your passion for music?

I would say first having parents who are musicians, that would be the primary influence. I would also say being in New Orleans, which everyone knows is a big musical town. More specifically, New Orleans is noted for producing great trumpeters. From the legendary Buddy Boldin to "Pops" (Louis Armstrong) to King Oliver to Leroy Jones to Wynton Marsalis to Terrence Blanchard and so on and so forth. There was no end to the amount of cats around here whom I could listen to in my own living room having a father who was a jazz musician and often had rehearsals at the house. Had the greatest trumpet players in the world right there.

Do you remember a certain time in your life when you realized that you could actually succeed at being a professional musician?
I think it was when I was about 11 years old and I started doing gigs around town with a bunch of kids in my neighborhood. Before that, I sort of lost interest in the trumpet for a couple of years. I had played it from about 4 to 8 seriously and I lost interest because my father started to force me since he noticed I had talent. The more he forced me, the more I backed away and started to hate playing because it became too much of a task. So around the age of 11, a couple of cats in the neighborhood knew I played and asked me if I wanted to join their band, so it rekindled my interest. One day, I was going through my father's record collection and I picked out this record by Miles Davis. It was a name familiar to me as a great trumpeter but I had never really heard his work at least consciously. I had never made the decision to listen to a Miles Davis record. I put it on, it was a record called "Four and One," and boy when I heard those guys play I said, "OK, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life." It was that defining moment and I've been at it ever since.

Musicians have different philosophies on what they consider to be their biggest ambitions. Some would like to be remembered for their technique, emotion, original compositions or, perhaps, arrangements. What do you think is your biggest ambition?

I want to connect with the people. To aspire not to be a great musician so much as being a great human being. By doing that, I think everything else sort of falls into place.

Is there anyone out there you haven't played with whom you would like to someday?

I would love to gig with (tenor saxophonist) Wayne Shorter, (pianist) Herbie Hancock and (pianist) Keith Jarrett.
I think the trumpet is the hardest instrument to play. I'm wondering what kind of relationship you have with your horn?

You are right about that, and quite honestly, it's a love/hate relationship. Some days you pick the trumpet up and it's like your best friend. It says, "Come on in, whatever you want." It's effortless and you're feeling good. But then you pick it up the next day, and you're feeling good from last night and your best friend tells you, "Hey, I don't know you." That's what it's like.

I admire the relationship between drummer and trumpeters.

Ah, yes. Those are the two loudest instruments in the band so it's a constant fight (laughs) and we are always vying for who's going to be the strongest on the bandstand. I think that's why trumpet players and drummers have a great love/ hate relationship because they can either make or break each other since those are the two most powerful instruments. There's nothing like it and it goes all the way back to when people had parades with bugle and drum groups. There's something there, like a call to arms almost. I think there is something very regal about the sound.