Nicholas Payton is a multi-instrumentalist and writer from New Orleans who is known for his prolific work on trumpet. Born to sousaphonist and bassist Walter Payton, he took to jazz at at early age and first picked up the trumpet at age four. By the time he was nine, he was joining his father on stage as part of the Young Tuxedo Brass Band. After making a name for himself as a touring musician, he signed his own recording contract with Verve, with whom he released seven albums, including his 1994 debut LP, From This Moment. Payton captured the attention of Warner Bros. Records and released his eighth studio album, Sonic Trance, with the major label in 2003. The record catapulted him to new heights, and he went on to make career defining moves like founding the SF Jazz Collective, joining the Blue Note 7 and forming a 21-piece big band known as the Television Studio Orchestra. In 2011, he recorded and released a cornerstone work in his catalog -- the Bitches LP, on which he sang, recorded every instrument and penned all the music himself. Payton runs his own imprint, Paytone Records, and continues to expand his catalog of records with albums like 2015's Letters.
