Imagine then having an 8 a.m. class the day after playing a late-night gig with a band notorious for stretching its performances into the wee hours. For trombonist and vocalist Natalie Cressman, a few lost hours of shuteye was the trade-off for entry into the esteemed horn section of the Trey Anastasio Band, the side project of the lead guitarist and singer from Phish. It's a gig she held for three years while also attending the prestigious Manhattan School of Music.
With diploma now in hand and her former boss back on the road with Phish, including this weekend's three-night stand at the Hampton Coliseum, Cressman is free to step into her own spotlight. Coincidentally, her first solo tour brings her just about 5 miles from her mentor.
This Saturday, Cressman and her band will play St. George Brewing Co. in Hampton as part of the second Mill Point Music Festival. While promoters are hoping the close proximity allows for a pop-in by a certain famous special guest, they know the 22-year- old musician is more than capable of commanding her own audience.
Raised in San Francisco, Cressman hails from a distinguished musical family. Her mother, Sandy, is a respected Brazilian jazz vocalist and her father, Jeff, plays trombone for Santana. The younger Cressman began playing the brass instrument at the age of 9 and in 2010 won a full scholarship to attend college in New York City. The invitation to join the Trey Anastasio Band came during her freshman year, and she spent parts of 2010-13 touring with the group.
"I learned a lot from Trey," Cressman said. "He is incredibly creative in terms of musicianship. He's sophisticated, but he never tries to be complicated for complexity's sake."
During her college years, Cressman also managed to squeeze in gigs at some of New York's top jazz spots and, in 2012, released her first album, "Unfolding."
While the mostly instrumental album showed off her abilities as a horn player, the musician has since expanded her focus.
On her upcoming record, "Turn the Sea," due early next year, Cressman still plays her instrument but also sings on nearly every track.
"I love the sound of the trombone, but a big part of what initially drew me to the instrument was how vocal it is," she said. "I think as far as horns go, it's the most expressive and similar to the human voice. I'm really interested in incorporating that relationship. Both are equally present in the music I write."
Cressman's evolving musical sensibility finds her pairing her jazz background with a decidedly modern approach.
"I listen to a lot of indie music and often it seems to be really stripped down, which is cool, but I feel like what's missing is texture," she said. "I think having horns helps add variety and color to the music."
Weaned on jazz and shaped by the jam-band aesthetic, Cressman is aiming to connect the dots between musical genres.
"The one thing I kind of have a problem with jazz is, I feel like it leaves my generation out," she noted. "I think that's a shame, because there's great music to be made in that idiom, but I think we have to meet people of my age halfway with it. I grew up with not only jazz but hip-hop and indie and dance, and I respond to that music, so I'm just letting those influences come through."
For listeners, that means a melding of genres that can be perhaps best described as indie-jazz.
"No matter how complex I make my arrangements I really try to keep an element in there that people can tap their foot to," she said. "Coming from a jazz background, I do know a lot of people who have really sophisticated tastes and write a lot of complex music, which is almost indigestible to nonmusicians. While I'm totally into playing that kind of music, I intentionally don't want to leave anyone out from being able to enjoy the music that I create."
It's an approach inspired by her work with Anastasio.
"Trey has a great balance in his music," said Cressman. "He is really trying to follow through with what the music calls for, but he also wants people to be out there dancing."
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