Nicholas Payton 'Into the Blue' album

Into the Blue is the Nonesuch debut from Grammy Award-winning trumpet player Nicholas Payton and his first as bandleader since the 2003 Warner Bros CD, Sonic Trance. Though celebrated for his interpretations of the New Orleans jazz canon, especially for material associated with Louis Armstrong, Payton focuses here on original compositions that are soulful, pensive and romantic. He also gamely steps out as a vocalist, for the first time on disc, on an elegant, self-penned slow dance called “Blue.” Along with eight original tracks, Payton interprets film-scoring giant Jerry Goldsmith’s title theme from Chinatown as well as “Nida,” composed by his father, the bassist Walter Payton.

It was inspired by – and named after – Nick’s mother, who was also a singer and pianist. Accompanying Payton is his touring band: keyboardist Kevin Hays, bassist Vicente Archer, percussionist Daniel Sadownick and drummer Marcus Gilmore (who happens to be the grandson of Roy Haynes). Into the Blue was produced by Bob Belden, the musician-arranger with whom Payton collaborated on the 2006 album, Mysterious Shorter, an all-star tribute to the early work of composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

The New York Times has described Payton as “abundantly gifted.” Variety has called him “one of the more popular trumpeters to emerge post-Wynton from New Orleans,” After a gig last summer at Manhattan’s Jazz Standard that included material featured on Into the Blue, Variety declared, “Nicholas Payton has developed an omnivorous approach to jazz, willing to bring countless genres to the table...Diversity like that in jazz is a rare commodity...In the opener, “Let It Ride,” Payton took two impressive solos, one polite, one aggressive, a microcosm of his chameleon nature and his comfort level with various ways of playing....he is attracted to and composes multi-faceted songs that provide dips and turns, broad tonal ranges and opportunities to reshape a song in mid-performance.”

Though Into the Blue is Payton’s first title for Nonesuch bearing his name, he’s no stranger to followers of the label. Payton has been a member of the multi-generational Joshua Redman-led SFJAZZ Collective, which has released two acclaimed discs on Nonesuch that explored the work of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, and showcased original pieces developed in a live setting, including Payton’s own “Scrambled Eggs” (on the 2006 SFJAZZ Collective 2). Payton also guest-starred on the adventurous, groove-oriented Momentum, the 2005 Nonesuch disc from Joshua Redman’s Elastic Band. Payton has long been known for collaborations, from his Grammy-winning sessions with 91 year-old trumpet legend Doc Cheatham to his playing and/or arranging work with neo-soul star Jill Scott, Dr. John, Eddie Palmieri, Bill Charlap and Dianne Reeves, among many others.

Payton, who has been performing with various combos in his native New Orleans since he was 12 years old, will be entertaining hometown crowds this spring at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

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Nicholas Payton - Into the Blue