Greg Osby (with Nicholas Payton), From St. Louis Shoes Summertimes

Greg Osby - St. Louis Shoes (2003)  Music

Posted by gribovar at June 11, 2021
Greg Osby - St. Louis Shoes (2003)

Greg Osby - St. Louis Shoes (2003)
EAC Rip | FLAC (image+.cue+log) - 351 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 126 MB | Covers (3 MB) included
Genre: Jazz, Post-Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Blue Note (7243 5 81699 2 8)

Saxophonist Greg Osby attacks a varied mix of jazz standards on St. Louis Shoes with results that sound both well within the "tradition" and utterly modern. Reminiscent of midcareer Wynton Marsalis, Osby seems to want to mix the Cotton Club-style swing of Duke Ellington with the angular bebop and calculated arrhythmia of Thelonious Monk. Backed by a stellar ensemble including trumpeter Nicholas Payton, bassist Robert Hurst, pianist Harold O'Neil, and drummer Rodney Green, Osby crafts interesting arrangements of songs including the barely recognizable Gershwin chestnut "Summertime" and the Dizzy Gillespie classic "Shaw 'Nuff" that are both harmonically challenging and rhythmically unique. Check out the quirky and angular Raymond Scott meets Monk written solo that Osby and Payton play in the middle of Ellington's "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"…

Greg Osby - Public (2004)  Music

Posted by gribovar at June 9, 2021
Greg Osby - Public (2004)

Greg Osby - Public (2004)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 349 MB | Covers - 15 MB
Genre: Jazz, Post-Bop, Modern Creative | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Blue Note (7243 5 97684 2 7)

Greg Osby's outings for Blue Note are always challenging, always extending one boundary or another in his own idiosyncratic jazz iconography that uses elements of the historical tradition, the mainstream, and the avant-garde> in forging that signature. Public was recorded in January, 2004 at New York's Jazz Standard. Osby was playing in support of 2003's excellent St. Louis Shoes album. That band - trumpeter Osby on alto, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Rodney Green - all make this gig. The only change is the replacement of pianist Harold O'Neil with Japanese prodigy Megumi Yonezawa…

Nicholas Payton - From This Moment... (1995)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 13, 2021
Nicholas Payton - From This Moment... (1995)

Nicholas Payton - From This Moment… (1995)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 370 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 157 MB | Covers - 49 MB
Genre: Jazz, Post-Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Verve (314 527 073-2)

The young trumpeter Nicholas Payton is featured on this CD as the only horn in a sextet also including guitarist Mark Whitfield, pianist Mulgrew Miller and vibraphonist Monte Croft. Best are Payton's melodic and very mature statements on the veteran standards "You Stepped Out of a Dream," "It Could Happen to You," "From This Moment On" and "Taking a Chance on Love." His six originals are less memorable, but overall, this is a pleasing date that finds the trumpeter showing a great deal of potential. Payton's tone, mixing aspects of Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis and New Orleans jazz in a post-bop setting, is quite appealing.

Nicholas Payton - Dear Louis (2001)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 22, 2021
Nicholas Payton - Dear Louis (2001)

Nicholas Payton - Dear Louis (2001)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 450 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 160 MB | Covers - 91 MB
Genre: Contemporary Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Verve (549 419-2)

Dear Louis is based upon Nicholas Payton's commissioned tribute to jazz icon Louis Armstrong and was recorded primarily during the year 2000. The CD features 13 songs primarily popularized by Louis Armstrong with Payton performing some priceless trumpet solos in the stellar company of his 14-piece band. He is joined by special guest vocalists Dr. John and Dianne Reeves. Nicholas Payton premiered his original title track, "Dear Louis," as a quartet feature at Lincoln Center as part the commission that spurred the recording. On this record, the trumpeter's big band expands the musical concept with such mastery that it is hard to fathom it scaled for quartet. Dear Louis opens with "Potato Head Blues," which features a re-harmonized melody and a rearrangement of Armstrong's original break…

Nicholas Payton - Gumbo Nouveau (1996)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 15, 2021
Nicholas Payton - Gumbo Nouveau (1996)

Nicholas Payton - Gumbo Nouveau (1996)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 357 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 134 MB | Covers - 86 MB
Genre: Contemporary Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Verve (531 199-2)

Only 22 at the time of this CD, Nicholas Payton had already quickly developed into a major trumpeter. Possessing a fat tone that is sometimes reminiscent of Freddie Hubbard, by the mid-'90s Payton had become New Orleans' latest significant contribution to jazz. On his second Verve release, Payton interprets and modernizes ten songs associated with his hometown and/or Louis Armstrong. Fortunately, Payton generally retains the flavor and joy of the original versions, even while he transforms much of the music into hard bop. To cite a few examples, "Whoopin' Blues" has parade rhythms, send-offs worthy of Lionel Hampton, and boppish solos, "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" is taken as a slow and lightly swinging ballad, and "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues" is turned into a jazz waltz…
Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Mark Whitfield - Fingerpainting: The Music of Herbie Hancock (1997)

Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Mark Whitfield - Fingerpainting: The Music of Herbie Hancock (1997)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 285 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 157 MB | Covers - 87 MB
Genre: Contemporary Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Verve (314 537 856-2)

This is a rather unusual tribute to Herbie Hancock on a couple different levels. There is no piano on the date, so obviously no one is heard trying to sound like Hancock; the intimate all-star trio (bassist Christian McBride, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and guitarist Mark Whitfield) avoids such typical Hancock hits as "Watermelon Man" and "Maiden Voyage," and several of the songs are real obscurities. The 14 Hancock compositions date from 1962-79, with one tune from 1985, so they do not cover his later output. Among the lesser-known tunes are the title track (first played by V.S.O.P.), "Sly" (from the Headhunters LP), and two melodies taken from the 1965 soundtrack of Blow-Up. Several of the songs (most notably "Driftin'") deserve to be revived more widely…

Nicholas Payton - Into The Blue (2008)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 27, 2021
Nicholas Payton - Into The Blue (2008)

Nicholas Payton - Into The Blue (2008)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 393 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 154 MB | Covers - 109 MB
Genre: Contemporary Jazz | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Nonesuch Records (7559-79942-4)

On his first several albums beginning in the mid-'90s, trumpeter Nicholas Payton appeared intent on establishing the range of his New Orleans influences, whether Wynton Marsalis or Louis Armstrong, to whom Payton paid tribute on 2001's Dear Louis. Then, on 2003's Sonic Trance, Payton threw a curve by diving headfirst into the world of late-'60s/early-'70s Miles Davis, complete with funky wah-wahs and sprawling electric keyboards. Into the Blue is another turnabout, and a welcome one: on this set of mostly original compositions, a pensive, largely laid-back Payton truly comes into his own. The ten tunes, recorded in New Orleans, offer a variety of moods, from melancholy to jubilant, an elegance permeating all of the performances…
Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton - Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton (1997)

Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton - Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton (1997)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 336 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 148 MB | Covers - 99 MB
Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Dixieland, Swing | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Verve (314 537 062-2)

This matchup between trumpeters Doc Cheatham (91 at the time) and Nicholas Payton (just 23) is quite logical and delightful. Cheatham, one of the few survivors of the 1920s, was still in remarkably fine form, while Payton (a flexible New Orleans player capable of ranging from Dixieland to Freddie Hubbard) is both respectful and inspiring. With Doc contributing occasional vocals and the settings ranging from a quartet to an octet with clarinetist Jack Maheu and pianist Butch Thompson, the brassmen explore a variety of 1920s and '30s standards, including a couple of obscurities ("Do You Believe in Love at Sight?" and "Maybe"). The interplay between the co-leaders, the many subtle tributes to Louis Armstrong, and the consistent enthusiasm of this swinging set make this a historic success and a very enjoyable outing.

Nicholas Payton - Sonic Trance (2003)  Music

Posted by gribovar at Jan. 23, 2021
Nicholas Payton - Sonic Trance (2003)

Nicholas Payton - Sonic Trance (2003)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 443 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 161 MB | Covers - 78 MB
Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Post-Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Warner Bros. Records (48447-2)

Changing labels from Verve to Warner Bros. and dropping any connection to his neo-bop past, trumpeter Nicholas Payton has crafted a funk-jazz album that unabashedly resurrects iconic trumpeter Miles Davis' wah-wah-laden fusion experiments epitomized by his 1969 opus, Bitches Brew. More slavish to the period than trumpeter Wallace Roney's No Room for Argument, but no less hip-hop-influenced than trumpeter Roy Hargrove's Hard Groove, Sonic Trance is nonetheless far from your average major-label jazz release. Featuring saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Vicente Archer, drummer Adonis Rose, and percussionist Daniel Sadownick, the group gains much au courant hip-hop aestheticism from the addition of drummer/producer extraordinaire Karriem Riggins…
Nicholas Payton, Lew Soloff, Tom Harrell, Eddie Henderson - Trumpet Legacy (1998)

Nicholas Payton, Lew Soloff, Tom Harrell, Eddie Henderson - Trumpet Legacy (1998)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 348 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 131 MB | Covers - 51 MB
Genre: Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: Fantasy/Milestone (MCD-9286-2)

Four masters of the trumpet, two generations apart, get together for an inspired session to pay homage to Dizzy, Miles, Satchmo, Clifford Brown, Chet Baker, Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Booker Little, and Fats Navarro. All four play together on the opening "So What" and the closer, Gillespie's "That's Earl Brother"; they split off in different groupings on the other tracks. With Mulgrew Miller on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Carl Allen on drums, the rhythm section is well in the pocket, and while none of the tunes are copies of their more famous namesakes (no chorus quoting here), the spirit is dead on the money on every track, making for some exciting jazz very well played. Highlights include "Jordu," "Nostalgia," "My Funny Valentine," "The Sidewinder," and "There's No You." An inspired and accessible session.