Allen's a decent though hardly extraordinary mainstream drummer who here leads an all-star neo-bop contingent in a set of standards and originals. Nothing surprising about the general conservatism of the date, given the personnel – Vincent Herring on alto sax, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, and Cyrus Chestnut on organ, to name a few. There's also nothing in particular wrong with the music, which is heartily played and deeply felt. Nothing, that is, except for the fact that it's covering ground that's been pretty much trampled into dust. It's a pleasant-enough listen, however, and since Cannonball Adderley isn't around to make albums like this anymore, maybe it's a good thing that musicians like these are. On the other hand, as long as guys like Johnny Griffin, Joe Henderson, and Phil Woods still walk the planet, the need is somewhat diminished.

What’s behind THE RED DOOR? For pianist Orrin Evans, that question has come to symbolize the daring path his life and music have taken over the course of his three-decade career. On his latest album, he once again flings that door open, delighting in the collaborators, friends, inspiration, and history that he finds inside.

For Robert Altman's Kansas City film, since the story was centered in 1934 Kansas City, Altman wanted to have younger musicians depict top jazz artists of the era playing at one of the legendary jam sessions. He recruited many of today's top modernists and, although they used arrangements based on older recordings, they did not have to necessarily improvise in the style of the time. Actually, it is surprising how close the musicians often come, recapturing not just the music of the period but the adventurous spirit of such immortals as Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Lester Young. A dozen songs from the film are on this very enjoyable and unique CD, which features such players as trumpeter Nicholas Payton, clarinetist Don Byron, guitarists Russell Malone and Mark Whitfield, pianists Geri Allen and Cyrus Chestnut, altoists Jesse Davis and David "Fathead" Newman, and four of today's great tenors: James Carter, Craig Handy, David Murray, and Joshua Redman. In addition, Kevin Mahogany sings "I Left My Baby." Although there are some audience shouts on a couple of the pieces, this is one soundtrack album that very much stands up on its own.

Nicholas Payton Realizes a long-cherished dream to record with icons Ron Carter and George Coleman, abetted by his longtime-collaborator Karriem Riggins on his album, Smoke Sessions.

Live in New York 1.24.04 is the second recording, and first live recording, by Nicholas Payton's electric jazz band Sonic Trance. It was recorded live at the 2004 International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conference in New York City. The recording originally circulated as a bootleg, but became so popular that Payton authorized a limited release by Kufala Recordings, a label that specializes in authorized live recordings.

Trumpeter Nicholas Payton is teamed up with Wessell Anderson (who doubles on sopranino and alto), pianist Peter Martin, bassist Christopher Thomas and drummer Brian Blade for an unusual set of music that shifts between hard bop and New Orleans jazz. While "Rhonda Mile" (which uses the chord changes to "Indiana") is pure bop, other selections combine the two idioms and "Four or Five Times" (listed as an Anderson original but actually a standard from the 1920s) is strictly Dixieland. A highpoint is the 16-minute "He Was a Good Man, Oh Yes He Was" which musically depicts a New Orleans funeral. Throughout, Anderson (particularly on the sopranino which he plays like a clarinet) and Payton work together quite well in the exciting ensembles and show impressive knowlege of earlier forms of jazz while carving out their own individual voices.

SF Jazz Collective wowed critics and jazz fans alike with their debut offering on Nonesuch. Pared from a triple disc offered on their website to a single CD, it was the first to showcase the group's M.O.: to pick one jazz composer per season, focus on reinterpreting that work for octet, and showcase for the writing of individual members - one song by each - and record it all. Their debut, SF Jazz Collective, focused on the tunes of Ornette Coleman and was stellar in every way. The Collective went through some personnel changes in their second season: bassist Robert Hurst was replaced by Matt Penman, drummer Brian Blade by Eric Harland, and trombonist Josh Roseman by Isaac Smith. Returning are pianist Renee Rosnes, saxophonists Miguel Zenón and Joshua Redman (the group's artistic director), trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and the legendary vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson…

In its admirable quest to issue fine recordings regardless of genre or outward commercial appeal, Nonesuch Records has released a live disc of the exciting, cross-generational SF Jazz Collective. This self-titled set is taken from a triple-CD collection available only through its website. The band is a who's who of jazz talent, and includes the venerable vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonists Joshua Redman (the group's artistic director), and Miguel Zenón, drummer Brian Blade, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Robert Hurst and trombonist Josh Roseman, with arrangements by Gil Goldstein. The group picks the work of a jazz composer's top study every year, and for 2004 it was Ornette Coleman…

Recorded at the historic Washington, D.C. club, Bohemian Caverns, on November 3, 2012, the album features a blistering set that captures Payton’s now renowned prowess on the trumpet - while simultaneously playing the Fender Rhodes piano. His genius and unmistakable originality is on wide display for this recording.
The hashtag, #BAM, stands for Black American Music. The #BAM movement created by Nicholas, states the revolutionary, yet evident, idea that music of the Black American diaspora is more similar than dissimilar. Black American Music speaks of his and all music descending from the Black American experience, including spirituals, gospel, blues, so-called jazz and soul…

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.

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.

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…

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…

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…