Friday 1 January 2010

Nicholas Payton [Payton's Place]

I must have listened to this disc 20 times over the years, and it was a joy to listen to it again today, the whole session has a loose funky feel, Payton has sidemen who aren't well known, but fit right in with his overall ideas for the album, and the guest slots add to the disc rather than confuse with a crowd of musicians.

So here's what i got from this listen, first off the drummer Adonis Rose is caught so well by the recording, it's a pleasure to listen to a drummer that not only has something to say, but you can hear every nuance of what he's saying, just listen to his drum solo towards the end of Concentric Circles.

Also the intros to so many of the tracks are truly inspired, non more so than the very opening of the album, on Zigaboogaloo, what a drum intro by Rose!, it's my favourite track on the disc, and Zigaboogaloo is exactly what you get with a title like that, again another inspired drum intro on Concentric Circles, great musings, and also the very revolutionary bass intro by Reuben Rogers on Paraphernalia, this is how Jazz should always be, the intros are what make the album so listenable.

This time i enjoyed Paraphernalia the most, a Wayne Shorter composition, Miles Davis played it on his Miles In The Sky album, Paytons take is a worthy version, it constantly builds up and slows down, and his trumpet solo is intense.