Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton
Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton
(Verve)
The now-deceased Cheatham was 91 when he recorded this; Payton, 23. These facts are important because despite the generation difference between, both demonstrate a profound understanding of the matter at hand - namely, a revival of New Orleans-style, Louis Armstrong small-band jazz. Listen to it in the background and it sounds politely lazy. But hone in on the economical but potent readings of such classic themes as “Stardust,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Black and Blue,” and “I Cover the Waterfront” and discover how innovative an epistemological break this must’ve been back closer to the turn of the century. Neither campy tongue-in-cheek nor depressingly nostalgic, Cheatham and Payton dive into this deep ocean with no grandstanding nor one-upping audibles. It’s a tribute to the boundless talent of both that you can’t tell who’s soloing where without a crib sheet. And it’s a tribute to the vitality of these songs that their melodies still sound fresh at this end of the 20th century.
Kevin John |
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