Nick@Night (1999)

About this title: By the last years of the 1990s, Nicholas Payton's trumpet-playing and leadership abilities were growing in leaps and bounds in live performance. However, the valedictory record of that decade displays growth only in the former and mostly caution in the latter, for Payton remains staunchly committed to the neo-bop verities and ceremonies. Part of the problem is that Payton's material -- he contributes ten of the 13 tracks -- is still not terribly memorable by and large, although he may be developing a distinctive talent for naming tunes. You gotta love titles like "Captain Crunch (Meets the ... read more

Tracks:

1. Beyond the Stars [Payton]
2. Captain Crunch [Meets the Cereal Killer] [Payton]
3. Faith [For Faith Evans] [Payton]
4. Pleasant Dreams [Payton]
5. Interlude, No. 1 (Turn up the Funk) [Payton/Warfield/Rog]
6. Nick@Night [Payton]
7. Somnia [Payton]
8. Interlude, No. 2 (Turn Out the Burn Out) [Payton/Wonsey/Roger]
9. Prince of the Night [Rose]
10. Blacker Black's Revenge [Wonsey]
11. Little Angel [For Christopher] [Payton]
12. Exquisite Tenderness [Payton]
13. Sun Goddess [White/Lind]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.