NATCHEZ &045; An interviewer asked the jazz musician where he’d rather sit to talk: at a stage-side table or somewhere else, away from the noise.

The interviewer can take her pick, the New Orleans native said smoothly. &uot;It’s all you, babe,&uot; he said with a nod.

You’d think he’d been interviewed many times before, judging from a demeanor that’s as cool as his renditions of jazz favorites. But that’s not the case.

Still, cut the kid some slack: he’s only 12 years old.

Meet Trumpet Red, who’s played the House of Blues, New Orleans’ famed Jazz Fest and, most recently, halftime at the Vidalia High football game.

On Saturday Trumpet Red, aka Doyle Cooper, was playing with the Richard Lane Quartet at jazz brunch to benefit those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Those evacuees include Cooper and his family, who moved to this area after the flood because his father’s family lives in Vidalia.

But while Cooper was there to help raise some funds, let’s be honest: he’ll perform anywhere he gets the chance. Jazz is in his blood.

He gets it honest. His father played the saxophone, and his father’s family has included trombone players as well.

Singers in his family include Cooper himself, his grandmother and his mother &045;Leslie Cooper, who sings Dixieland and jazz music and sang a tune with the quartet Saturday.

But for Doyle Cooper, a love of jazz started with a trumpet his babysitter gave to him.

&uot;Actually, she let me borrow it Š and never asked for it back,&uot; said Cooper, who gets his nickname from a mane of flame-red hair pulled back in a ponytail for the occasion.

Cooper was just 8 years old then, and his music Š well Š

&uot;He made a noise like he was killing a cow,&uot; his mother said. &uot;The neighbors would call and say, ‘Do you mind? We kind of had a late night last night.’&uot;

But now, she added, &uot;He has a really good ear. And I’m not saying that just because I’m his mother.&uot;

Actually, it was fate that brought Cooper back to the trumpet for good.

When he entered band in fifth grade, his elementary school band teacher had too many drum players and asked what else Cooper could play. Cooper’s mother said he had a trumpet and his father’s saxophone.

Since then, he’s kept a steady schedule of at least one hour of practice a day and about one public gig a month, including jam sessions with musicians decades older in the French Quarter itself.

That’s not counting the time he spent on music at school &045; the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and, most recently, in the Vidalia schools.

He started in the Vidalia Junior High band but, given talent and experience, quickly moved up to the high school band.

Speaking of school, what does Cooper have in mind as a career? Will he choose a day job and continue playing jazz in his free time?

Not a chance. Ask where he wants to end up, and he doesn’t bat an eye &045; &uot;Carnegie Hall.&uot;

&uot;I want it as a career because I love it,&uot; he said, leaning forward for emphasis. &uot;Once I get into it …&uot;

He didn’t have to finish his sentence. Once he gets into his rendition of &uot;Second Line&uot; &045; if you’ve been to Mardi Gras, you’ve heard it &045; you get it.

It’s all about the music, babe.