Nicholas Payton has to be on the short list of the finest living jazz trumpeters. Early in his career, he was a protg 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.
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.
