Nicholas Payton

“Maestro Rhythm King” derives its title from the vintage drum machine featured on every track of the project. You might recognize the sound from Sly Stone’s album, ”There’s a Riot Going On.” And like on “Riot,” sometimes the Maestro Rhythm King or the “funk box,” as dubbed by Sly, is used in tandem with live drums. To round out this set, other vintage instruments were employed such as keyboards like the Moog, Hammond B-3, Fender Rhodes, Prophet-6, OB-8, and the Korg Polysix, as well as a Fender P-Bass. This is a tight-knit, classic soul album with all instruments played by Nicholas Payton.