In his career so far, Payton has proven himself more than just a big name in contemporary jazz – he is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, producer, arranger, essayist, and social activist.

Drip features new takes on six previously recorded original compositions. featuring collaborative, new reworks of his compositions. Each has its own hypnotic vibe. I’ve been moving to “Kimathi” and “Black Is Beautiful.”

The collaborators include Robert Glasper, Michael Franks, and Patrice Rushen. Franks and Rushen duet for the first time on the quiet stormy “Visible Light.” That track really takes you back to a different era.

“Everything I write is about life experiences. The music means nothing without life. A life lived. It’s not just notes on a page. It’s not just a technical exercise. It’s vibrations and energy,” Payton says. “And I’m striving to help lift, if possible, raise the vibration of the collective conscious one audience, one album, one song at a time. If I can’t do that, there’s no point in me playing. That’s why I play. It’s about contributing to society and inspiring. That’s my life as an artist, period. Challenging people to think differently, to think critically and to not be slaves to the system and the status quo.”

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Happy birthday to one of my very favorite trumpeters, Arturo Sandoval (born in 1949)! 

His birthday falls on a very important election day in the U.S., the country where Sandoval has been a naturalized citizen for twenty years. He defected from Cuba in 1990. Learn about Sandoval’s flight to freedom.

Here are three of my favorite pieces featuring the trumpet legend:

“Funky Cha Cha” – A blistering song with extra hot sauce from Michael Brecker

“Angelfire” – This cut from the Rippingtons’ Black Diamond release lets Arturo let loose a bit at the end. You can always count on the man to deliver. And it’s a good Russ Freeman composition and production, easily one of the best “cool fire” tracks in my library.

Leonid and Friends is a collective of Russian musicians who have been doing excellent covers of songs by the band Chicago. One of their latest is “Street Player” which features Arturo maybe sitting in his house, sitting down and still blowing out an incredible solo. He even hits an impossibly high note that I don’t think I’ve ever heard a trumpeter do before.

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Christian Scott – “Died In Love”

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