Nicholas Payton

Nicholas Payton (born September 26, 1973) is an American trumpet player and multi-instrumentalist. A Grammy Award winner, he is from New Orleans, Louisiana.[1][2] He is also a prolific and provocative writer who comments on a multitude of subjects, including music, race, politics, and life in America.

Nicholas Payton
Payton playing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, May 5, 2007
Background information
Born (1973-09-26) September 26, 1973
New Orleans, Louisiana United States
GenresJazz, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsTrumpet, electric piano
Years active1990–present
LabelsVerve, Warner Bros., Blue Note/EMI, Nonesuch
Associated actsYoung Tuxedo Brass Band, The Blue Note 7
WebsiteOfficial website

Biography

The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by age nine was sitting in with the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father. He began his professional career at ten years old as a member of James Andrews' All-Star Brass and was given his first steady gig by guitarist Danny Barker at The Famous Door on Bourbon Street. He enrolled at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and then at the University of New Orleans.

After touring with Marcus Roberts and Elvin Jones in the early '90s, Payton signed a contract with Verve Records; his first album, From This Moment, appeared in 1995. In 1996 he performed on the soundtrack of the movie Kansas City, and in 1997 received a Grammy Award (Best Instrumental Solo) for his playing on the album Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton.

After seven albums on Verve, Payton signed with Warner Bros. Records, releasing Sonic Trance, his first album on the new label, in 2003. Besides his recordings under his own name, other significant collaborations include Trey Anastasio, Ray Brown, Ray Charles, Daniel Lanois, Dr. John, Stanley Jordan, Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Zigaboo Modeliste, Marcus Roberts, Jill Scott, Clark Terry, Allen Toussaint, Nancy Wilson, Dr. Michael White, and Joe Henderson.

In 2004, he became a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective. In 2008, he joined The Blue Note 7, a septet formed in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. In 2011, he formed a 21-piece big band ensemble called the Television Studio Orchestra. In 2011, he also recorded and released Bitches, a love narrative on which he played every instrument, sang, and wrote all of the music. In 2012 the Czech National Symphony Orchestra commissioned and debuted his first full orchestral work, The Black American Symphony. And in 2013, he formed his own record label, BMF Records, and the same year released two albums, #BAM Live at Bohemian Caverns, where he plays both trumpet and Fender Rhodes, often at once, and Sketches of Spain, which he recorded with the Basel Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland.

Payton's writings are provocative. One of his most notable pieces to date, "On Why Jazz isn't Cool Anymore"[3] describes the effects of cultural colonization on music. The article quickly earned his website 150,000 page views and sparked international press attention and debate.[4]

Discography
  • 1995 – From This Moment (Verve)
  • 1996 – Gumbo Nouveau (Verve)
  • 1997 – Fingerpainting: The Music of Herbie Hancock (Verve) with Christian McBride and Mark Whitfield
  • 1997 – Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton (Verve)
  • 1998 – Payton's Place (Verve)
  • 1999 – Nick@Night (Verve)
  • 2001 – Dear Louis (Verve)
  • 2003 – Sonic Trance (Warner Bros.)
  • 2008 – Into the Blue (Nonesuch)
  • 2011 – Bitches (In+Out)[1]
  • 2013 – #BAM: Live at Bohemian Caverns (BMF Records)
  • 2013 – Sketches of Spain (BMF Records)
  • 2014 – Numbers (Paytone Records)
  • 2015 – Letters (Paytone Records)
  • 2016 – The Egyptian Second Line (Paytone Records)
  • 2017 – Afro-Caribbean Mixtape (Paytone Records) 2-CD
  • 2019 – Relaxin' with Nick (Smoke Sessions Records) 2-CD
  • 2020 – Quarantined with Nick (Paytone Records)
  • 2020 – Maestro Rhythm King [limited edition LP] (Paytone Records)

As sideman

With Eric Alexander

With Joanne Brackeen

With Joe Henderson

With Elvin Jones

With Jimmy Smith

With Allen Toussaint

References
  1. Skelly, Richard. Nicholas Payton at AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  2. "Nicholas Payton". Archived from the original on March 5, 2005.
  3. "On Why Jazz isn't Cool Anymore…". December 1, 2011. Archived from the original on December 1, 2011.
  4. "Someone Said Something Negative About Jazz As A Whole Again". December 3, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.