Payton's Place
While trumpeter Nicholas Payton's initial recordings in the mid-'90s garnered him the reputation of a Wynton Marsalis imitator, the talented young jazzbo has matured quickly and is obviously his own man. With a graceful quintet featuring Tim Warfield on tenor sax and Anthony Wonsey on piano, Payton cruises through an entertaining batch of original compositions sprinkled with songs by Rodgers and Hart, Wayne Shorter, and soul-pop tunesmiths, Thom Bell and Linda Creed. On the song "The Three Trumpeters," Payton is joined by hornmen Roy Hargrove and Wynton Marsalis for a burning, round-robin of brass antics. Saxophonist Joshua Redman also joins the fray on "A Touch of Silver," rounding out this summit of young jazz lions. Ever the traditionalist, Payton is growing by leaps and bounds.--Mitch Myers