For his fifth album, Nick ditched the overly complex original compositions and involved arrangements and pared the band back to a flexible, streamlined three-piece. Recorded before a receptive and vocal audience at the band’s New York home, Trio Stonk: Live at Smalls is a freewheeling joyride showcasing the band’s back-to-basics approach: “Swing, melody and the blues; simple, familiar chord progressions, tune selections made on the fly, composers' melodies jettisoned on a whim, and songs crashing and bleeding into one another. Sometimes we start and finish together, but we're​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​fix​ ​that.”​ ​–NH