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CD Review: Nicholas Payton's 'Sonic Trance'


On Nicholas Payton's seventh full-length album, Sonic Trance, the jazz trumpeter shifts from a more traditional style of jazz to a slightly techno/acid-jazz/free jazz form that plays off with surprising results.

"Fela 1" is a seven-minute jam that includes a fantastic wah-solo by Payton with an Afro-inspired beat behind it. "Séance" is a five and half minute open form jam that is perfectly titled, projecting the idea of some psychic conjuring up spirits from the afterworld.

The beat picks up on "Tantric," when the band almost seems to lose control, while Payton plays high squeaks on his trumpet that seem to be impossibly resonating from a brass instrument. The album crescendos and climaxes at this point, as "Blu Hays," the next track, brings the album back down to a smooth jazz tempo with some nice solos from various instruments incorporated into the track.

Payton slips up a little bit on a few tracks, such as the scat track of "Shabba Unranked," which takes away from the sublime nature of the album with an abrasive two minutes. "Two Mariachis on the Wall" starts out with a great rhythm and melody with its salsa inspired sound, but quickly fizzles out into a six-minute noise jam that doesn't go anywhere.

Elsewhere on the album, Payton uses samples and automated beatboxes to add to the sound, which are just dying for techno deejays to remix. This LP will satisfy the appetites of those that can't wait for another installment of the Verve's Remixed series, but don't necessarily need too many heavy beats to enjoy the jazz.

Reach the reporter at steven.ganczaruk@asu.edu.


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