Don’t let the term ‘trio’ mislead you. As you probably know, the New Orleans native Nicholas Payton first made his mark on the trumpet but in the last decade has made albums playing piano as well as the trumpet with many passages of such done simultaneously. So, we get both trio and quartet renderings as on his previous albums for the Smoke Session label. The last time we checked in with Payton on these pages was for 2021’s Smoke Sessions where he played with Ron Carter, George Coleman, and Karriem Riggins.
Payton has frequently stated that his favorite musician is Miles Davis, with whom Carter and Coleman both worked. So, here on Couch Sessions he taps a couple of veterans with similar shared histories – with each other and with Miles, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White.
Payton introduces a relatively new technique here although he has been experimenting with hip hop samples in the past decade. He uses interview excerpts and voice samples triggered from his iPhone to begin many of the tunes. While he feels that it adds a more direct context to his message, hearing the voice of the actual person; to these ears, it’s debatable on whether it really enhances the tunes. Arguably, it can be distracting, especially as one strains to hear the spoken words over the music. Yet, for Payton, who seems to consistently be adding instruments to his arsenal, it becomes another element to add to the trumpet, piano, Fender Rhodes, and clavinet.
The late pianist Geri Allen’s “Feed the Fire” opens with Allen speaking about her roots in the eclectic Motor City music scene over Payton’s Rhodes. Williams and White played on Allen’s 1998 Verve The Gathering and on Williams’ 2001 trio offering Houdini. After Allen finishes, Payton continues on Rhodes, but he then shifts to the acoustic piano and the trio engages in a rollicking swing before switching to trumpet, occasionally comping on the Rhodes while his rhythm mates push him.
Payton’s tune for the bassist, “Bust-a-Move” follows with the leader on Rhodes and clavinet amidst opening chants “Bust-a,” Bust-a,” Bust-a-Move,” straddling the ethereal and funky. Later, he delivers one for his drummer, “His Name Is Lenny,” using a catchphrase from the ‘70s sitcom Good Times, sticking with the Rhodes and allowing White to improvise on his kit. These injections of humor are a nice touch. The bassist returns the favor, composing the ballad “Christina,” another glimpse at the elegant side of this trio.
Just as he did on the previous album, Payton nods to pianist Keith Jarrett, who also has connections to Miles. Jarrett’s spoken words about improvisation begin as Payton tinkles the acoustic piano on “Blossom” before demonstrating a sensitive touch and acute use of space, two of Jarrett’s characteristics as his rhythm mates offer restrained, elegant support. Wayne Shorter imparts some humor about Miles at the outset of “Pinocchio,” first recorded with Miles in 1967 and a standout here, mostly for Payton’s terrific trumpet playing, perhaps not as lyrical as Miles but certainly more forceful.
Payton’s “Bleek’s Blues,” named for Denzel Washington’s trumpet-playing character from Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, is another trumpet tour-de-force. There’s a brief nod to Benny Golson’s classic “Along Came Betty,” which proves to be a feature for a Rhodes trio rendering, with Williams stepping forward with lyrical bass lines. Payton reverts to the acoustic piano for a brief take on Herbie Hancock’s “Watch It,” and later we hear from the composer speaking about Miles Second Great Quintet days in the intro to “The Sorcerer,” a stellar example of simultaneous trumpet and Rhodes. The group also renders Shorter’s oft-covered “The Fall” in a Rhodes-driven funky arrangement from Terri Lyne Carrington.
Payton revisits “Jazz Is a Four-Letter Word” from his 2017 Afro-Caribbean Mixtape, the album that marked his first foray into DJ culture. Here we have the words of Max Roach, who shares Payton’s disdain for the label “jazz” but apart from that it allows White to filter in some of Roach’s techniques underneath the spoken words. The album ends with a tune dedicated to Revive Music Group founder Meghan Stabile. “From a Flicker to a Flame…” features Stabile’s voice. She was instrumental in promoting jazz to younger audiences and Payton plays piano elegiacally in her memory. There are over seventy minutes of music here as Payton revisits several giants. His piano playing inevitably improves with each outing. He is a master craftsman whose artistic expression continues to grow.
