Jazz Articles about Nicholas Payton

About Nicholas Payton

Album Review

Nicholas Payton / Butcher Brown: A Supreme Blue

Read "A Supreme Blue" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
July 26, 2026

Is it an act of bravery or simple foolhardiness to revisit two of the most revered albums in jazz history--records that transcend popularity and occupy a near-mythic place in the music's collective psyche? In this centennial moment for both Miles Davis and John Coltrane, the question carries not only artistic weight but commercial implications as well. Nicholas Payton joins forces with the Richmond-based collective Butcher Brown on A Supreme Blue, a thoughtful and stylistically hybrid reimagining of Kind ...

Album Review

Nicholas Payton: Triune

Read "Triune" reviewed by Fran Kursztejn

by Fran Kursztejn
October 7, 2025

The multi-hyphenate Nicholas Payton premieres a new trio, recording alongside eccentric bassist Esperanza Spalding and straight-ahead luminary Karriem Riggins, a roster enough to whet any forward-thinking listener's appetites. Payton, beyond his wildly successful sideman stints with Oscar Peterson, Mulgrew Miller and Milt Jackson, has also made great strides to define his own worldly, idiosyncratic style as leader and solo artist, drawing from both his bopping lineage and the moodier, atmospheric ambitions of his peers. He parades confidently through no-nonsense bop ...

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Nicholas Payton: #bamisforthechildren

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 21, 2025

Nicholas Payton's Triune (2025), brings listening joy galore, fueled by the deep chemistry of his all-star lineup: esperanza spalding on vocals and bass and Karriem Riggins on drums. Payton last worked with them some fifteen years ago in one of his earlier bands, and with all three in constant demand, this reunion was long in the making--less a question of whether it would happen than when. Released by Smoke Sessions Records, the album affirms music's capacity to uplift. ...

Album Review

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

Read "Walk A Mile In My Shoe" reviewed by Steve Plever

by Steve Plever
August 4, 2025

A glance through the track list--with covers of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye and two swing-era vocal standards--could give you the wrong impression. Yes, this is a very accessible and soulful album, but it is serious and heartfelt jazz, with Orrin Evans' personal stamp making it work. Blues, soul and gospel sounds share the stage here with swing, straight-ahead and avant-garde influences--no surprise given Evans' decade of playing with the Mingus Big Band. Evans' piano sets the tone ...

Album Review

Eric Scott Reed: Out Late

by Neil Duggan
July 25, 2025

Prioritizing energy and passion over musical precision, pianist Eric Scott Reed recorded every track on his album Out Late as a first take, with all musicians performing together in one room. Nothing was added later--this old-style approach gives the recording its vintage feel. As Reed explains, “We rehearsed a song for a few minutes, and once everybody got the melody under their fingers, we went ahead and made a track while it was fresh. The energy is there; the rawness ...

Album Review

Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band: Walk A Mile In My Shoe

Read "Walk A Mile In My Shoe" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
October 25, 2024

Il nuovo disco di Orrin Evans e della sua Captain Black Big Band ci ricorda l'importanza delle radici per la comunità musicale afroamericana: il gospel, il blues, le big band, i cantanti e strumentisti storici. Una risorsa che è anche identità collettiva e forza culturale. Come ha sempre fatto in passato, il pianista e bandleader di Philadelphia s'ispira alla tradizione per rinnovarla e arricchirla, con passione e freschezza. Stavolta le orchestrazioni sono funzionali alle interpretazioni di quattro prodigiosi ...

Album Review

Ben Wolfe: Unjust

Read "Unjust" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo

by Maurizio Zerbo
December 11, 2023

Sul piano compositivo e dell'organizzazione sonora, Unjust è uno dei più luminosi gioielli jazzistici degli ultimi anni. Contrabbassista di ragguardevole talento, Ben Wolfe ribadisce nel suo decimo progetto discografico la predilezione per architetture ariose ma arzigogolate, dimostrando come la scrittura jazzistica possa captare lo spirito dei tempi nel rispetto dei classici modelli di riferimento. A dimostrare come il contrabbassista statunitense non si accontenti di riprodurre le idee altrui, l'impasto sonoro del suo ottetto trascende le atmosfere post-boppistiche e ...