| Jazz |
Nicholas Payton Returns With a Star-Studded Acoustic Trio and a Groove That Refuses to Quit
Back in February 2020, Nicholas Payton was gracing the cover of DownBeat magazine, already recognized as one of the defining trumpeters of his generation. Now he returns with a project that feels both intimate and grand in scope: an acoustic trio album that reunites him with bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding and drummer Karriem Riggins, two of the most luminous names in contemporary music. To make matters even more dazzling, Payton brings in special guests like Ivan Neville, Erica Falls, Nikki Glaspie and Otis McDonald, expanding the sound into something that feels less like a conventional session and more like a summit meeting of modern artistry.
A prodigy from New Orleans
Payton’s story is nearly the stuff of legend. Born in New Orleans, he grew up steeped in music, tutored by his parents: bassist Walter Payton, a beloved figure in Crescent City jazz circles, and Maria Payton, a pianist and vocalist. He began trumpet at age four, was performing professionally by ten, and before his 20th birthday had already worked with heavyweights like Danny Barker, Clark Terry, Elvin Jones and Marcus Roberts. His debut recording, From This Moment, came out in 1995 on the iconic Verve label. Just two years later, he earned his first Grammy nomination and win, sharing the award for Best Instrumental Solo with the great Doc Cheatham on their collaborative album.
From there, Payton seemed destined to never stop moving. Grammys, acclaimed recordings, genre-defying projects, he has long operated at the edge of jazz tradition, challenging its boundaries while paying deep respect to its roots. And Triune, his new trio recording, continues that trajectory.
The making of Triune
The title itself suggests a trinity, and the music bears it out. Payton, ever the multi-instrumentalist, floats effortlessly between trumpet, piano, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet and vocals, always exact in intention and expansive in tone. Around him is a rhythm section with whom he shares history. The trio was originally conceived in 2010 as part of a quartet with pianist Taylor Eigsti. At that time, Karriem Riggins was already a drummer of formidable experience, with more than 15 years performing alongside Mulgrew Miller, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson and Eric Reed. But Riggins also brought something else: a deep connection to hip-hop, forged through collaborations with Common, J Dilla, Daft Punk and Erykah Badu.
Esperanza Spalding, meanwhile, was still a rising star in 2010, brilliant, promising, but not yet the Grammy-winning household name she would become. Even then, she had been making waves with collaborations alongside Joe Lovano, Stanley Clarke and Mike Stern. Payton recognized the sensitivity and brilliance of both Spalding and Riggins early on, and envisioned their complementarity. “I’d been trying to get us back together for years,” Payton says. “But they were always busy. This time, everything just lined up. The quality was never in question—it was only a matter of timing.”
The repertoire centers largely on Payton’s compositions, except for two tracks penned by the late pianist and composer Geri Allen, whose influence hovers gracefully over the record. The result is an album steeped in urban sophistication: complex in its harmonic structures, yet irresistibly listenable, even to non-specialists. It’s music that wears its intellect lightly, intricate without ever losing warmth or groove.
A royal feast of sound
What makes Triune compelling isn’t just the star power of its lineup, but the organic chemistry that emerges. Payton’s lyric trumpet lines find grounding in Spalding’s elastic bass and crystalline vocals, while Riggins shapes the rhythmic pulse with his signature blend of precision and fluidity. Guests like Ivan Neville and Erica Falls add extra layers, expanding the palette without disrupting the trio’s core identity.
The album feels less like a single project and more like a feast, an opulent spread of sound that rewards repeated listening. There is groove in abundance, the kind that makes you nod instinctively, but also a depth of arrangement that invites reflection. For longtime admirers of Payton, it is a reminder of his enduring versatility; for fans of Spalding and Riggins, it is a chance to hear them in dialogue with a kindred spirit.
Why it matters now
What makes Triune resonate so strongly is not just its craftsmanship but its timing. Jazz in the 21st century is increasingly porous, drawing as much from the vernacular of hip-hop, R&B and electronic music as from the swing and bebop traditions that defined earlier eras. Payton has been one of the more outspoken musicians about this evolution, sometimes controversially so, insisting that the term “jazz” itself no longer fully captures the breadth of Black American music. Whether one agrees with him or not, albums like Triune make his case more eloquently than words could.
In his larger body of work, Triune stands as a moment of balance. Where earlier records leaned heavily into electronic textures, production layers, and genre fusions, this album strips things back to acoustic interplay without sacrificing Payton’s modernist sensibility. It demonstrates that complexity need not mean clutter, and that groove and intellect can coexist in the same breath.
In today’s jazz landscape, where the conversation often revolves around questions of heritage versus innovation, Triune feels like a quietly radical statement: it insists that the music can be both. It can honor Geri Allen while embracing Esperanza Spalding’s experimental vocal phrasing. It can showcase Karriem Riggins’ hip-hop instincts while remaining anchored in swing. It can be intellectually rigorous while still being, in the simplest sense, a joy to listen to.
That, perhaps, is Payton’s great gift. He reminds us that the future of jazz, or Black American music, as he would prefer to call it, is not a choice between reverence and rebellion, but a dynamic dialogue between the two. And with Triune, that dialogue sounds not only urgent, but irresistible.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, October 2nd 2025
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Musicians:
Nicholas Payton – trumpet, piano, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, & vocals
esperanza spalding – bass and vocals
Karriem Riggins -drums
Nikki Glaspie – vocals on “Ultraviolet”
Ivan Neville – vocals, organ, & clavinet on “#bamisforthechildren”
Erica Falls – vocals on “#bamisforthechildren
Otis McDonald – vocals on “#bamisforthechildren”
Track Listing :
- Unconditional Love (Geri Allen) 6:20
- Ultraviolet (Nicholas Payton) 4:57
- Jazz Is a Four-Letter Word (Nicholas Payton) 6:17
- Let It Ride (Nicholas Payton) 3:33
- Gold Dust Black Magic (Nicholas Payton) 7:10
- #jazzisforthechildren (Nicholas Payton) 5:35
- Feed the Fire (Geri Allen) 5:35 (*)
(*) digital only bonus track
Features original photography by Brandon Baker and liner notes by Kalamu ya Salaam
Recorded May 1 & 2, 2025, at Esplanade Studios, New Orleans, LA.
Available on LP (limited edition 180 gram vinyl); in audiophile 96khz/24bit and Dolby Atmos special digital formats