S.F. Trumpeter Bill Ortiz on Playing with Souls of Mischief, Covering Gil Scott-Heron, and Touring with Sheila E.

"Souls of Mischief brought me in initially to replace a sample that was going to cost them too much to clear!" So says San Francisco-born trumpeter Bill Ortiz with a laugh as he recalls his contribution to the Bay Area rap quartet's cherished debut album '93 'Til Infinity. Ortiz's playing can be heard on the chorus and outro to the song "Live And Let Live." Now Ortiz has brought his commingling with the rap world up to date by featuring The Grouch and Zion I's Zumbi on his latest EP, which begins with a titular cover of Gil Scott-Heron's "Winter In America" and is out now digitally.

Ortiz's formative years also included stints playing with R&B acts TLC, Sheila E., and Tony Toni Tone. We recently spoke with him about those experiences plus the new record, his time on the road with Janet Jackson, and the mythology of Prince's post-show basketball games.

When did you decide to cover Gil Scott-Heron's "Winter In America"?

The idea of the Gil Scott-Heron cover came up about two years ago. I've always been a huge fan of Gil Scott-Heron and had a chance to see him a few times in the mid-'70s. His words have always been very important to me. What I wanted to do with my presentation of the tune is convey my feelings of the message he was capturing in the song but bring it up to date musically. I feel his words are as relevant today as when he first recorded the song; I wanted to make that message relevant to today's people.