Monday, 1 September 2025

Music Buzz | Reviews (Sep/Oct 2025)ª




Introspection Richard Payne

(SojoMusic)

More than 20 years after his Bluemangó debut, St Lucian jazz musician and composer Richard Payne returns with a dizzyingly spectacular album of Creole jazz, featuring hints of broader inspiration than these Antilles. In the opening track, "The Call", we hear wordless vocalisations, reminiscent of the Pat Metheny Group's Grammy-winning, mid-to-late 1980s oeuvre. The album positions original compositions and traditional Creole and "classical" folk songs within a contemporary milieu, showcasing both island innovation and Creole sophistication. Recorded in France with some of the world's finest Creole jazz musicians — many living there — the album showcases Payne's keyboards, anchoring sublime improvisational conversations between trumpet, saxophone, electric guitar, and Kwéyòl voice with elan and elegance. Introspection is a welcome addition to the Caribbean jazz canon.
 
  1. This review appears in the September/October 2025 issue of Caribbean Beat magazine.
© 2025, Nigel A. Campbell. All Rights Reserved.

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