Nature’s Table Archives Project on WEFT-FM

Posted on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 by Sean Kutzko

Sean Kutzko (L) and Jeff Machota (R) discuss the Nature’s Table Archives Project on Machota’s jazz show on WEFT-FM, July 31, 2019.

Jeff Machota, the host of the Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting jazz show on WEFT 90.1 FM since 1991 and a former Nature’s Table employee, interviewed Sean Kutzko of the Nature’s Table Archives Project on his show on July 31, 2019. The 90-minute segment includes several selections of music recorded at the Table in the Archive, as well as conversation about ongoing efforts and why people are still talking about the Table almost 30 years after it closed.

Tracks included in the segment include:
The Jack Webb Band – “Tiger Rag” February 22, 1980
Jeff Helgesen Quintet – “Ah-Leu-Cha” and “I Remember Clifford,” October 4, 1990.
The Quintet (w/Ray Sasaki & Morgan Powell) – “Willow Weep For Me” May 1980
Ron Dewar Quartet (w/Guido Sinclair) – “I Love You” September 28, 1980
Sorgum – “So What > Impressions > So What” April 5, 1986

All recordings are from performances already posted in the Archive.

Listen below:

Jeff Machota interviews NTAP’s Sean Kutzko on WEFT-FM’s Wednesday Morning Prayer Meeting jazz program, July 31, 2019.

Tom Paynter Memorial: Complete Audio

Posted on July 23, 2019July 23, 2019 by Sean Kutzko

Friends and family of Tom Paynter gathered at the Iron Post on Sunday, July 21, 2019, to pay respects to one of Champaign-Urbana’s leading jazz musicians and composers.

Here is the complete audio from the afternoon. This includes performances by the Brad Wheeler Quartet, with Jose Gobbo, Ben Taylor, and Jeff Magby. Additional musicians sat in this day, including Ivo Braun, Elliott Torres, Justin Kramer, Johnnie Owens, and Tom Cortese.

There was a lot of video shot of the memorial as well. Once it has been edited and distributed, we will announce it here at NaturesTable.net.

Special Thanks to all the musicians who contributed to the afternoon, as well as Jeff Machota for putting the event together, and to Paul Wirth at The Iron Post.

Tom Paynter Memorial – July 21, 2019 (Complete Audio)

Brad Wheeler Plays Tom Paynter’s “Blues For Dolphy”

Posted on July 21, 2019July 21, 2019 by Sean Kutzko

Just got back from the Tom Paynter Memorial at the Iron Post in Urbana. It was great to see such a big turnout. Brad Wheeler’s quartet (with Jose Gobbo on guitar, Ben Taylor on bass, and Jeff Magby on drums) took on the task of playing several pieces from Tom’s book. Lots of musicians were there to honor Tom, including Jeff Helgesen, Josh Quirk, Ben Grosser, Erik Lund, Lamonte Parsons, and others. There were even a few sit-ins, as drummer Justin Kramer, bassist Elliott Torres and trumpeter Ivo Braun played a couple standards

We’ll post the full gig very shortly, but here’s a taste for now: Tom’s piece “Blues For Dolphy.” Great stuff here!

Nature’s Table Archive Vol 18: Nebula with Tom Paynter – March 5, 1990

Posted on July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 by Sean Kutzko

We’re pleased to offer another example of one of C-U’s more complex jazz composers, Tom Paynter. Tom passed away suddenly on May 25, 2019, and the pianist and flutist left behind his vast, impressive body of work. Paynter’s compositions cover a lot of musical territory, from delicate solo pieces to intense, full-on aural assault.

This recording highlights the more complex side of Paynter’s work. The band’s official title is Nebula: The Music Of Diffused Gassers, led by Tom Paynter. The recording is mostly Tom’s original compositions, although there are covers by Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea and Charlie Parker as well.

C-U’s Ben Grosser was one of the musicians in Nebula. Here’s what he had to say about Nebula, and playing with Tom in general:

Nebula, the Music of Diffused Gassers was a quartet in action around 1990-91. Led by Tom Paynter, the group focused on avant-garde / free / experimental jazz, and, as far as I can recall, all of the band’s charts (aside from occasional standards) were written by Tom. The environment Tom created here was quite supportive of experimentation, as evidenced by our flexible approaches to form, the way we blended tunes together, and the multi-instrument roles each member took on. During a performance, any member of the band might tweak the group’s trajectory, even when doing so meant we turned Tom’s carefully crafted chord changes into something, well, less careful. The core group included Alex Lazarevich on tenor sax and bass/Bb clarinets, myself (Ben Grosser) on trumpets and tenor sax, and Danny Deckard on drums and percussion. All but Danny had an occasional turn on the keyboards, and all of us also sang and played wood chimes. Taimur Sullivan [now member of the highly acclaimed PRISM Quartet] sat in on alto sax for part of this session. I should also note that Tom’s synthesizer chops were in full force with this group. He was extremely adept at crafting timbres with his ARP 2600 synth, and could be seen patching new sounds on the fly during performances. This tape may be the only recording of the band. We played a number of gigs at the Table–and also did a live session on WEFT–but I am unaware of any other tapes.

Enjoy this rare recording of Tom Paynter with some extremely forward-thinking and experimental musicians. Please attend the Tom Paynter Memorial on Sunday, June 21, 2019 from 2pm – 6pm at the Iron Post, 120 S. Race St, Urbana.

Nebula: The Music of Diffused Gassers – Led by Tom Paynter. March 5, 1990

Two Tracks by Tom Paynter

Posted on July 1, 2019July 2, 2019 by Sean Kutzko

The C-U jazz community is still feeling the loss of longtime C-U player and composer Tom Paynter, who died May 25, 2019 at the age of 50. A brilliant pianist and flutist, Tom was equally comfortable in straight-ahead jazz, Brazilian music, or the avant-garde.

We were happy to discover just over twenty minutes of Tom’s quartet as filler on a cassette from Gary Peyton’s collection. The only date listed was “Summer 1990.” These two tunes — “Stella By Starlight” and “Song For My Father” — feature Tom on flute, plus Table regulars Peyton on piano and Danny Deckard on drums. The bassist is merely listed as “Kita;” thanks to some digging by Jeff Helgesen, we believe this is Kita Makoto, who was a student at the U of I at the time and played with Guido Sinclair. A mystery trumpet player sits in on the second tune.

Tom was one of a kind. Be sure to attend his memorial at The Iron Post on Sunday, July 21, from 2-6pm, and listen to his oral history interview from November 2016 with Jeff Machota.

Enjoy these two tracks. We have more of Tom’s sets on cassette we’re digitizing and will be posting more of Tom’s music here as soon as we can.

Tom Paynter Quartet – Live at Nature’s Table – Summer 1990