deluxe edition = digipack verpakking & 2 bonus tracks
“Go ahead and clap your hands now ...” De eerste single Liquid Spirit van zijn derde studioalbum in drie jaar tijd is meteen een interactief soulanthem met snijdende blazers en funky geklap. Net als die andere fijne jazz zanger, Jose James, is Gregory Porter na twee albums overgestapt naar major label Blue Note Records. En trouwe fans kunnen gerust zijn: alles blijft zo groots als het was (en hij letterlijk is). Zijn diepe volle vintage bariton, zijn melodieuze new urban jazz, zijn uitstekende band en natuurlijk zijn onafscheidelijke hoofddeksel! Met inspiratiebron Nat King Cole indachtig creëert Gregory Porter zijn eigen ‘standards’ en toont zich een verhalenverteller pur sang. Zijn levenslessen en opvoeding met gospelmuziek zijn een grote inspiratiebron voor 14 gevarieerde tracks. Van verstillende akoestische schoonheid (Water Under Bridges), naar fluweelzachte ballade (Hey Laura) naar uptempo protest (Free) en verder. Hier horen we een zanger die betekenis aan muziek durft te geven en op missie is om muziekgeschiedenis te schrijven.Dit keer geen dus geen (Grammy) nominaties meer maar echte prijzen. Inclusief staande ovatie!
1. No Love Dying
2. Liquid Spirit
3. Lonesome Lover
4. Water Under Bridges
5. Hey Laura
6. Musical Genocide
7. Wolfcry
8. Free
9. Brown Grass
10. Wind Song
11. The "In" Crowd
12. Movin'
13. When Love Was King
14. I Fall In Love Too Easily
15. Time Is Ticking
16. Water Under Bridges
The 14-track (deluxe cd = 16 tracks)album is further justification for Porter's quick ascent into the top ranks of jazz and R&B singers today, and it also features 10 new originals which showcase Porter's innate gift for writing poignant songs based upon personal experiences with a relatable and emotional immediacy. Also included is a stirring rendition of the jazz standard "I Fall In Love Too Easily," as well as covers of Abbey Lincoln's "Lonesome Lover" and Ramsey Lewis' hit "The ‘In' Crowd."
"I firmly consider myself a jazz singer but I enjoy blues, southern soul, and gospel," says Porter. "Those elements make their way inside my music. And I've always heard them in jazz." Indeed, Porter wields one of the most captivating baritone voices in music today. It emits enormous soul that conveys both the emotions and intellect of any given song without relying on vocal histrionics. In The New York Times, Nate Chinen wrote: "Gregory Porter has most of what you want in a male jazz singer, and maybe a thing or two you didn't know you wanted." Jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater praised Porter in the pages of JazzTimes by saying, "We haven't had a male singer like him in a long time. He's such a wonderful writer. He tells these great stories."
On Liquid Spirit, Porter retains the same core musicians that accompanied him on his previous two albums - pianist and music director, Chip Crawford, drummer Emanuel Harrold, bassist Aaron James, alto saxophonist Yosuke Sato, and tenor saxophonist Tivon Pennicott. On a few selections, Porter complements that ensemble with trumpeter Curtis Taylor, and organist Glenn Patscha. Producer Brian Bacchus also returns, as well as arranger and associate producer Kamau Kenyatta.
Porter sees Liquid Spirit as a logical progression in his burgeoning discography as it touches on some of the same themes, particularly the highs and lows of romance, his childhood, and socio-political observations. More pointedly, he views the title-track, a rousing, hand-clapping gospel-jazz romp, dealing with replenishing "thirsty" listeners with more substantial music, as the flipside to last year's "Bling Bling," a blistering song on his previous album Be Good on which the protagonist had so many artistic gifts to give but no one to give them to. Similar sentiments occur on "Musical Genocide," on which Crawford hammers a dark rhythmic figure against James' bluesy bass accompaniment as Porter declares his refusal of accepting the insistent squashing of quality, diverse music and culture by a mainstream in favor of disposable, homogenized pap.
In part, these songs are based upon Porter's reflections on new fans, worldwide, who come to him saying, "Where have you been?" or "How come I've never heard you before." "Not saying that I am ‘what is,' Porter says, "But I think maybe what I'm doing is what people actually want to hear. There are some people who want that liquid spirit - a soulful, thoughtful sound - and they haven't been getting it." (tekst:www.jazzcorner.com)
