Jazz Articles about Nicholas Payton

like 266

Nicholas Payton: Nick @ Night

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 1, 2000

It's a promising sign to see that the revivalist movement once fronted by Wynton Marsalis has now given way to a manifold and healthier jazz outlook. A bi-product of the shifting mores, trumpeter Nicholas Payton could be considered one of a new breed of renaissance men, ready to carry the music to the next level. Like Marsalis, he hails from New Orleans. Unlike his predecessor, however, he seems to be more interested in moving jazz beyond the repertory or “museum ...

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Nicholas Payton: Nick@Night

by Mark Corroto
November 1, 1999

A working band--Joy! It's uncommon today for major label to record their artist with his working band. But, surprisingly, Verve has done just that. Payton's quintet is a heavy swinging bop-oriented ensemble. This recording, like Miles' second great quintet, is more about band than it is about star. Individually its members have released records under their own names, but all are essentially this quintet. Of special note are Tim Warfield's Gentle Warrior and Adonis Rose's Song For Donise both on ...

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Joanne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic

by Glenn Astarita
May 1, 1999

One of the great pianist’s and unsung heroes in Modern Jazz returns in incendiary and dynamic fashion. Joanne Brackeen’s Pink Elephant Magic is stunning, articulate and easily one of the premier jazz recordings of 1999.

The title track and opener, “Pink Elephant Magic” is simply an outstanding composition! The complex and seemingly difficult to perform arrangement is multifaceted, cleverly orchestrated and superior in scope and altogether artfully constructed. Brackeen, with the assistance of Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Chris Potter (soprano sax) ...

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Joanne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic

by Jack Bowers
May 1, 1999

This new recording showcases not one but two of Joanne Brackeen’s conspicuous talents, and is uplifted not only by her exemplary keyboard work but her persuasive writing as well. Brackeen, now some 30 years removed from her early service with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, writes with clear images in mind, and the results can be observed in such charming sound portraits as “Pink Elephant Magic,” “Ghost Butter,” “Filene’s,” “Beethoven Meets the Millennium in Spain” and “Cram ’n Exam” (a note–heavy ...

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JoAnne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic

by Jim Santella
May 1, 1999

From the march tempo and hard bop power of “Pink Elephant Magic" to the drifting ballad waltz time of “Filene’s," JoAnne Brackeen’s latest album covers a lot of territory. The pianist’s seven compositions, coupled with three familiar pieces, provide variety and result in a well-rounded set. Bret Primack’s informative liner notes are available on the ‘net at http://www.arkadiarecords.com . Brackeen has a forceful keyboard style that drives her ensemble with percussive power. Her thirty-year career includes experience with Art Blakey, ...

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Joanne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic

by Bob Margolis
April 1, 1999

A Master pianist other than a Flanagan, or a Peterson, is faced with the daunting task of recording something that separates them but allows for their brilliance to shine through. The subject of this piece has consistently been able to do this, primarily using vehicles other than the trio or solo format. Putting together perhaps her finest band since the late 1980's quartet featuring Billy Hart, Cecil McBee and Gary Bartz, pianist and composer Joanne Brackeen has just put out ...

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Nicholas Payton: Payton's Place

by John Sharpe
August 1, 1998

Payton's Place is trumpeter Nicholas Payton's third date on his own and it's a wide- ranging effort that's loaded with great tunes and a host of high class guest artists. This 24 year-old jazz star has produced some fine CDs in the past, but perhaps the presence of fellow trumpet dynamos Wynton Marsalis and Roy Hargrove challenged him to raise his playing just a notch higher. This trumpet trio does “battle" on the joyously swingin' “Three Trumpeteers," trade licks on ...