Nicolas Payton - Sonic Trance

Nicolas Payton Sonic Trance
2005 Warner Bros.

This was a bit of a departure for Mr. Payton, who is more often associated with the Young Lion camp of reactionary Wyntonian design. But he gets a solid cast, including Kevin Hays (Tim Hagans), Dan Sadownick (Screaming Headless Torsos), and Adonis Rose (Donald Harrison), to build a blemished, but otherwise bankable release mining the early 70s era of fusion and soul.

The opener sets a very relaxed vibe that could easily function as a backing track to an Erykah Badu song, as many of the tracks do but there is more to this disc than simple instrumental takes on the latest neo-soul variations. Fela 1 has a delicate taste of early electric Miles, but plays it a little too smoothly, as does the sparse and nocturnal Velvet Handcuffs, which sports a staccato trumpet pulse Seance on the other hand, gets closer to having a grit to it, with clusters of trumpet and a wobbly rhythm that staggers like a drunk in all the right spots.

There are also some comical segues and more jovial material, as the Shabba Unranked, which has Payton spoofing the verbal slur of the dancehall caricature behind a busy, goofy backing track or Two Mexicans on the Wall, which sounds like a tweaked piece of music for a Robert Rodriguez film involving Antonio Banderas.

There is spacey, open excursions, as Toys in Babeland takes cues at times from Sextant-era Hancock, and more boppish runs, as on Blu Hays. The album is not a strict formula, and that works to its benefit.

This is a good release for Payton, who I have generally liked, but never had a really strong lean for, since many of his earlier albums tended to sound too informed by the straightjacketed school of Stanley "The Grouch" Crouch and his fetish, Wynton Marsalis; good listening, but rarely moving beyond the very safe confines of the Young Lions approach. But this album, and his recent tenure with Greg Osby has shown an expanded palette and more open approach to playing, so he definititely is moving on up.