The musician's bid to replace the former term with a Black American Music acronym reflects his desire to see the genre return to its roots. But some colleagues are tuning him out.
In a cramped UCLA classroom, trumpeter Nicholas Payton is leading a young septet of college students through his piece "The Backwards Step." He's here as part of a weeklong teaching residency, and the song he plays to the group at the Thelonious Monk Institute is led by his gliding trumpet. Framed by keyboard and vibraphone, it sounds like a simmering post-bop standard. But to Payton, this isn't just jazz — it's the sound of Black American Music.
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