The Couch Sessions is the latest in Nicholas Payton’s series for Smoke Sessions, pairing him with his dream rhythm sections. His eponymous 2021 release, Smoke Sessions, teamed him with Ron Carter; now he partners Buster Williams and Lenny White.
On this album, Payton also pays homage to jazz legends by using spoken word passages from them. Thus the album opens with Geri Allen talking about her Detroit roots, as a preface to the interpretation of her excellent composition Feed The Fire, with Payton on Fender Rhodes and piano. (A little of this talk goes a long way, I reckon.)
Payton is best known as a trumpeter, but yes, now performs on piano, Fender Rhodes, and clavinet; here he also triggers samples from his iPhone. “I decided to use Buster and Lenny for their shared history,” he says, “not only working with each other but also with my favorite artist ever – Miles Davis.” Williams and White played with Allen on The Gathering (1998). They were a superlative team then, and with Payton they still are.
The bassist contributes his own poignant ballad Christina, while Keith Jarrett’s gorgeous ballad Blossom is also featured; on both of these tracks, Payton is on piano only. The album also includes two compositions each by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter; a highlight is the former’s very catchy Watch It – not previously known to me – with Payton on piano.
Two of Payton’s originals celebrate his collaborators – Bust-a-Move and His Name Is Lenny – while the spiky Bleek’s Blues is named after Denzel Washington’s trumpet player in Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues. The Couch Sessions is a good release, but it would have been an excellent one had the leader dispensed with the gimmicks.
Discography
Feed The Fire; Bust-a-Move; Blossom; Pinocchio; His Name Is Lenny; Bleek’s Blues; Along Came Betty; Watch It; Fall; Cristina; The Sorcerer; Jazz Is A Four-Letter Word; From A Flicker To A Flame (75.12)
Payton (t, p, kyb); Buster Williams (b); Lenny White (d). No recording details given, but probably USA, c.2022.
Smoke Sessions Records SSR-2207
