The iconoclastic trumpeter is living proof that talent is a family affair
Critics and fans are fond of using the phrase “the next Miles Davis” to describe Christian Scott, the New Orleans-born, Berklee-educated jazz trumpeter whose unorthodox, genre-spanning approach to jazz music has brought him gigs as a guest musician for everyone from soul/R&B artists like Prince and Jill Scott to hip-hop performers like Mos Def and X-Clan. But while Scott, 25, makes no secret of his admiration of Davis, some of his greatest musical influences come from much closer to home. Take, for example, his unusual timbre, which, along with his ever-present pair of shades and his unshakeable aura of cool, is one of the Grammy-nominated musician’s trademarks. Borrowing a technique from the late, great Clifford Brown, Scott uses warm air from the diaphragm rather than the cooler air that most trumpeters use, the result of which is a breathier, less piercing tone. Though he makes it sound effortless, Scott confesses that he struggled to master the technique for nearly three years before he found the secret.
“I thought about trying to make the instrument sound like my mother’s voice, and that’s when the breakthrough happened,” Scott recalls. “When I tried with that as my objective, it immediately came, and it’s never left.”
This wasn’t the first time Scott’s mother, a former classical bassoonist, played a part in his musical growth: Earlier in his life, she had taught him to read music and to memorize rhythmic patterns. Scott took further musical guidance from his uncle, renowned jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr., with whom Scott now co-directs a musical summer camp for kids.
Scott’s family presents a strong case for the notion of talent as a genetic phenomenon. Before turning to music as a pre-teen, Christian had followed in his father’s footsteps as a visual artist, while his twin brother Kiel, (now an accomplished visual artist), studied music. When the young siblings began learning each other’s crafts as a way of spending more time together, each realized that his true passion lay in the opposite pursuit. Though Scott claims that drawing comes more naturally to him than music does, he says he only sketches occasionally these days. “Everyone asks when I’m going to start painting, like Miles painted,” he notes. “I’m like, ‘That’s enough with the comparisons!’”
Given its release 50 years after Miles Davis’ At Newport record, Scott’s new Live at Newport CD/DVD probably won’t do much to shake off the Miles association. Featuring five new cuts plus live versions of three songs from Scott’s previous two releases (2006’s Rewind That and 2007’s Anthem), the double-disc set, which Scott and band will be plugging at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center this week, has been getting a warm reception from jazz listeners, including an unequivocally positive review from Billboard in November.
But the trumpeter, ever the cool one, displays a nonchalant attitude about the album. “I haven’t really heard it, to be honest with you,” he reveals, adding that during a recent radio interview, an announcer asked what Scott thought of a piano solo from an album that was playing at the time. “I was like, ‘It’s amazing! It sounds like Brad Mehldau or Aaron Parks,’” Scott laughs. “The guy was like, ‘This is your record!’”
If Scott’s apparent indifference to the release of his latest album and DVD comes as a surprise, it makes more sense in light of the fact that he views his recordings simply as snapshots of a particular moment. “That’s what it is to do what we’re doing: You’re exposing yourself,” he muses. “You’re saying, ‘This is what I am today—now—but tomorrow, I promise that I’m gonna try my best to be better.’ ”
Christian Scott performs at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4 at Kuumbwa Jazz , 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Tickets are $22/adv or $25/door. For more information, call 427-2227.
Hello, My name is Kyle Press, I work for the Jazz Publicity firm, DL Media (Blue Note, Concorde, Cryptogramophone, Justin Time, Mack Avenue). We really enjoyed the article and was wondering if we could have your contact into in the event that we have something to pitch you on (one of our clients, Aaron Parks, plays piano on Scott's album, which, I must say is fantastic). Thanks! Kyle Press DL Media General Manager, Jazz Director- WKDU
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