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8-panel Digipak Album
“THE COUCH SESSIONS simply flies by, which is a true indication of a great album that you just don’t want to end.”
— Geraldine Wyckoff, Offbeat Magazine
“Stretching his horizons, yet looking both backwards and forwards, Nicholas Payton forms a unique trio with all-stars Buster Williams and Lenny White… The result is a kaleidoscopic collection of sounds hinting at early plugged-in Miles, sometimes bopping, other moments going into the soul-funk.”
— George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly
“Nicholas Payton emerges from the pandemic blur with creative energy to spare… Flying in interwoven spoken-word testimonials from such artists as Geri Allen, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Max Roach. From the purely musical angle, THE COUCH SESSIONS boasts the potent rhythm section of Buster Williams and Lenny White on bass and drums. with Payton eloquently completing the sonic canvas on keyboards and horn.”
— Josef Woodard, Downbeat
***
Music has the power to heal, a fact that has never been as relevant as it has over the challenging last few years. On his captivating album, THE COUCH SESSIONS, the brilliant multi-instrumentalist and composer Nicholas Payton provides a session of musical therapy that draws on the compositions and words of some of the music’s most visionary artists.
The latest in a series that he has recorded pairing him with dream rhythm sections, Payton is joined by bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White, who not only have forged one of the most distinctive rhythm tandems in recent decades but have also worked with many of the legendary artists to whom this album is dedicated.
“I decided to use Buster and Lenny for their shared history,” Payton says, “not only working with each other but also with my favorite artist ever – Miles Davis. There are a lot of connections between the artists on the album and the lineages that they either came out of or were integral in starting. Working with Buster and Lenny together was a bucket list item for me.”
Throughout THE COUCH SESSIONS, Nicholas Payton and his stellar trio play therapist to listeners in need of some vital musical counseling. “In these uncertain new times, the importance of music and the arts has come even more to the forefront,” he says. “With this album, I wanted to speak to music as a healing force, an essential source of light in our lives.”
released November 25, 2022
Recorded July 12 & 13, 2022 at Sear Sound Studio C, NYC
Produced by Nicholas Payton & Paul Stache
Associate Produced by Damon Smith
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Chris Allen
Assistant Engineered by Steven Sacco
Photography by Dana Distortion
Design by Damon Smith
Executive Producers: Paul Stache and Molly Johnson
