Still Hooked on Into the Blue

Many of you have probably noticed that Nicholas Payton‘s Into the Blue has been highlighted in the Music I Like section for nearly a year now.  I will freely admit that part of this is due to a lack of time to update the site.  I’ve been completely slammed at work for the past few months but things are finally settling down so I can indulge other activities like keeping this site updated (the horn has never left my lips, I just haven’t been writing about it).  No doubt, I have laid my ears on some really good new music – even while wrestling with the demands of my 9-5.

Still, I can easily say that I play Into the Blue more than any other CD in my collection.  Not since I first heard Kind of Blue has a recording captured my ear like this.  I enjoy everything about it.  I think every musician hears a recording, song or solo and says to themselves – “THAT is what I’m trying to do.”  Into the Blue has become that CD for me.  From the writing, to the group sound/vibe to Nicholas Payton’s phrasing and sound…  I’m hooked.

When I play now I find myself gravitating or hearing his sound/phrasing over new material.  Unfortunately I’m no where close to that level of performance – but I’ve got a clear target that I’m shooting for.  Do you need more proof?  “The Backwards Step” has been my ring-tone on my cell phone since last year and that same song pumps from my alarm when I wake up every morning.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve laid in bed listening to it before starting my day.  I hope Nicholas doesn’t read this and think I’m a stalker.  I’m just inspired by his hard work and that is always a good thing.

If you’d like to learn more about this recording be sure to check out Nick’s podcasts.  It provides some great insight on the recording.  Just go to http://www.nicholaspayton.com and click on Media.  Podcasts are located at the bottom of the page.

Equipment

I feel like I should update folks on my equipment situation.  It has been a while since I talked about it mainly because someone once assumed that I was buying horns at the expense of practice time.  Sore subject needless to say and we won’t even get into it again.  Suffice to say that has never been the case.

First off – I’m still playing trumpet.  If you recall I had decided to go to flugelhorn exclusively but after talking to several trusted friends who play the horn and listening to great recordings of the cats that inspired me to begin with…  I had to come back.  As of right now, I am doubling on trumpet and flugelhorn.

Last year was my 40th birthday (yeah, I’m getting old) and I wanted to treat myself with a new horn.  I order a Taylor Chicago Standard 460 from Andy Taylor.  It was love at first blow but eventually I started having serious problems with the weight.  After a 1.5-2 hour practice session my back was a complete wreck.  Keep in mind that I probably weigh 135 pounds soaking wet with a pocket full of bricks.  At first I refused to think it was the horn but as a test I practiced using my old Yamaha student horn for a week.  Back problems disappeared.  Rather than buy one of those weight-lifting belts and a lifetime supply of Doan’s Pills, I decided I’d be better off selling the Taylor and getting something else to replace it.  As of right now my current equipment is as follows:

• Selmer 80J Trumpet (polished lacquer) with Monette B4S mouthpiece
• Yamaha Bobby Shew Flugelhorn with Monette FLGB4 mouthpiece

I feel like I’ve been around the world with regards to equipment and mouthpieces.  The changes that I make now are small and much more educated.  I have a pretty good idea of what I like and what works/doesn’t work.  Hopefully this will be my setup for some time to come.

Maryland Summer Jazz Workshop

Last year I had the pleasure of attending the Jamey Aebersold camp in Kentucky.  I had a fantastic time and learned a ton.  While I know that I still need to work on the stuff that they gave me in 2008, I wanted to go again this year.  Unfortunately, like everyone else in the country I was concerned about finances.  As a compromise I have decided to attend the Maryland Summer Jazz Workshop next week instead.  I’ve worked with the camp director Jeff Antoniuk on numerous occasions.  I’ve been a member of his combo classes and I even took a private lesson from him a few years ago.  He has assembled a really good faculty and I’m looking forward to attending.

The toughest decision for me was picking a session.  Two of my favorite trumpet players are working on two different weeks.  Ingrid Jensen is teaching in session I and Tom Williams is doing session II.  For a moment I was tempted to attend both so I wouldn’t miss anything but work demands would not allow that.  I ended up picking session I because it fit my schedule better.

I hate that I won’t get to work with Tom.  I’ve had the pleasure of hearing him play several times and he’s a really nice cat.  I love his ideas and sound on trumpet/flugelhorn.  As disappointing as it is not to work with Tom, I’m excited to see Ingrid again.  I took a lesson from her when she worked at Peabody so I know she is going to have a lot to share.

I know I’ve said it before but hopefully I will get back into the habit of updating the site regularly again.  I plan to share my experience at the MSJ so please stay tuned for that in the very near future.