We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristin Trotty a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve always known music was going to be a part of my life, just not how large. I think the earliest thought of wanting to do it professionally was in high school, when my dream career was computer programmer by day and jazz performer by night. I had dreams of working from my kitchen table in pajamas and then going out to dimly lit, extravagant clubs. The images in my head were always elegant, luxurious places where people dressed to impress and gave off an air of sophistication. And there I would be, on stage under a spotlight, my flute sparking and playing gorgeous jazz standards. A pretty romantic look at it for sure, but one I still fantasize.

Kristin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started singing in a church choir when I was small. It was just what you did and I found my love of instruments in elementary school. The first time I picked up a flute, it was one my sister brought home for 6th grade band. She let me give it a try and I loved it. Once I got into 6th grade, it was a wrap. I was the typical band student, and even picked up a little piano in the band hall after school. I went to college determined to be a computer scientist and programmer with a minor in music, but quickly learned that music was just more natural to me. It felt good to do it. Music was involved in every facet of my life and I eventually switched majors. I found myself buried in all the pieces that make music the art and science it is. I played with every musician I could, even going to jazz jams at a professor’s house. We’re talking greats like Conrad Johnson encouraging a 19-year old me on stage while playing with players from across the globe.

For a long time, I didn’t think I could make a living with music as anything other than a teacher, but that wasn’t my forte. I got into IT and just left music on the back burner. Singing in my car, then church, then with a local choir. I still played flute, but it was lots of classical stuff and improvisation to whatever came on the radio. I’d visit jazz venues when I could.

In 2014, I read about a local musician and how she was keeping the jazz tradition alive. Since there weren’t a lot of places that focused on jazz, I decided to check it out. That is the night I was introduced to Mrs. Margaret Wright. She was wonderful. I heard songs that I enjoyed. She invited people up on stage with her, something I had never seen in a happy hour setting. That night, with the gentle assistance, read swift kick, from friends, I took the stage with a legend. All those jams and pushes to play came flooding back and I was at home. I couldn’t get enough and went back every week. I played with so many people on that stage.

After some time, again with the support of another artist, I spoke to the owner about playing a show. They agreed and I did my first show in Austin, or anywhere, under my own name in 2015. From there, I played other venues like Carousel Lounge, Kenny Dorham’s Backyard, Dozen Street, art shows and private events. Every time was a blast. It always felt powerful and magical.

I walked into it thinking all I had to do was play flute and sing songs and people would come flocking in. It never dawned on me that maybe people didn’t enjoy jazz as much as I did. Also, being a bit of an introvert who doesn’t like to talk about her life compounded the problem. I couldn’t get people in the doors, tips weren’t really coming in and the gigs I played weren’t all paid ones. Every once in a while, I’d land something that had a guarantee and that would make up for some of it. I started looking at branding myself and that opened a whole new chapter. I needed to find a way to get people in the room. I needed them to hear me.

Then, like the rest of the world, the pandemic hit and everything changed. I took that time to work on branding. I needed to find it all; a look, a signature something, a way to show people why I loved jazz and why I wanted them to love it, too. I changed my name to Hott Trotty, spelling it with “two T’s for the double hottness,” and set about becoming a different me. The loss of my dad in 2020 brought a crashing halt to everything. Shortly after that, Mrs. Margaret and my uncle passed. As well I was crushed. I had to get myself together. I decided that life was too short and I needed to do something so I launched Hott Trotty Music, LLC in 2021.

Hott Trotty Music is all about bringing back that sultry, extravagant feeling of jazz lounges and supper clubs. I don’t have a way to redocrate every venue I play, but I do have the ability to paint the picture for listenerd through musical styling and demeanor. I also care about expanding jazz to other audiences and educating youth on being more than a performer. Performing is great, but I want them to know there are a million different people working together to make one show happen. Anyone can have a career in music and you don’t even have to step on srage!

While the business is still growing and I’m still working on getting people in the door, I am proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone. There are plans in the works to present intimate jazz experiences and bring some of that classic, grown-folk energy back into the world. I collaborated with some great people and released a couple of jazz tracks, back under Kristin Trotty. That was a major accomplishment. Now, after 5 years of working on it, I have finally written enough material to complete an album and look forward to that coming out, too.

The thing I want people to know about Hott Trotty Music, LLC is that all music speaks. It speaks of love, fear, passion, humor and so much more. While I focus on jazz, I also play and sing other styles, including soul, blues and r&b, adding more everyday. Also, I want to address the idea that jazz is a bit elitist. It’s not, really. It is the same as blues or gospel, just dressed up a bit more.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn feeling unworthy and I still struggle with it at times.

In college, I played with a lot of talented people. Then, once I switched my major, I was in class with TRAINED talented people. In my flute studio alone, I was grouped with one girl who started playing at age 4 and another who had taken lessons from jazz masters I admire even to this day. Even my instructor was an internationally recorded flautist. There I was, this girl from a tiny school, who had never had a private lesson and who had been told at one point her lips were shaped wrong to be a flautist and that her fingers were too long. To add to it, I didn’t at the time think of myself as a singer, but had managed to secure a spot singing with a local opera guild. Talk about imposter syndrome.

Some days, it seemed no matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t live up to the people around me. I felt like I was the worst, not thinking about the levels I was comparing to myself. Some days, I felt like I could take on the world AND win. It wasn’t until I stopped thinking about what other people had done that I was able to breathe. I had to step back and really look at what I had accomplished. I could memorize and play technical pieces with the best. I had that spot with the guild because I auditioned and won it. I was able to accomplish those things because I earned them.

Sometimes I just have to sit and tell myself I am worth all of this, whatever this may be. I had to learn that I am the one who sets my value and that others don’t have to agree. More importantly, whether they agree or not, I cannot allow my personal value, my personal worth, to fall.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think society can best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem by getting out of the “ordinary” box and supporting creatives at all levels, not just the highest ones. Buy music or art from somone without name recognition Donate to schools, afterschool programs and non-profits. Support a local theater group. Take children to museums and symphonies and jazz events and bluegrass festivals and street fairs. Take them to anything that will expand their views of life and humanity. A wonderful thing about creatives is that we don’t don’t view things the way the rest of society does. When I walk into a laundromat, I hear a symphony being played by washers and dryers. Every painter paints what they see in their mind’s eye. Society gets so hung up on what is accepted and what is “good” that they miss out on the true beauty of the different. We let critics decide if someone’s craft is acceptable, seeming to forget that we all have our own opinions. We let people determine how much our craft is worth, knowing they may know very little about the technique and even less about the struggle it took to get to that point. I think if society allowed itself to be open, a lot of people would be pleasantly surprised.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Hott-Trotty.com
• Instagram: @hott.trotty.music
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hotttrotty