This event was postponed from March 25th 2020 to August 13th 2020.
Previously purchased tickets will be honored. Liquid Spirit marks
Gregory Porter’s Blue Note Records debut, which arrives on the heels
of two critically acclaimed indie label albums that quickly propelled
Porter to the upper echelon of contemporary male jazz singers and
earned him two GRAMMY nominations. Don Was, President of Blue Note,
encouraged Porter to stay true to his artistic vision. “I firmly
consider myself a jazz singer but I enjoy blues, black southern soul,
and gospel,” Porter says, “Those elements make their way inside my
music. And I’ve always heard them in jazz.” The singer retains the
same core musicians that accompanied him on his previous two discs –
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 describes the making of
Liquid Spirit as very organic. “I didn’t say, ‘OK, this is a
Blue Note record, let me get a Freddie Hubbard sound,’” Porter
explains, “I didn’t have any agenda with this record.” 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.” Indeed Porter has an amazing gift for writing poignant
songs based upon personal experiences with a relatable and emotional
immediacy. Even more, his hooky melodies penetrate instantly.
Recommencing with the water analogy that characterized his debut disc,
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 titled-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. In part, “Liquid Spirit” is 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.” Similar
sentiments occur on “Musical Genocide” and his riveting take on
the Ramsey Lewis-Dobie Gray classic, “The ‘In’ Crowd.” On the
former, 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. The latter
showcases Porter sauntering through a finger-popping groove as he
croons Billy Page’s lyrics about finally breaking into the big
leagues of so-called A-listers. “I did this song in a way of being
ironic. I’m so inclusive; I’m so against exclusive groups,”
Porter says, again reflecting on his ascending cosmopolitan fame.
“Someone asked me recently if I felt like I was in the ‘in
crowd’ of jazz. I answered, ‘yes and no.’” Liquid Spirit
contains two other standards – a testifying reading of Abbey Lincoln
and Max Roach’s “Lonesome Lover” and a pithy treatment of Sammy
Cahn and Julie Styne’s “I Fall In Love Too Easily,” which
features Porter alongside Crawford’s gorgeous piano accompaniment
and James’ emphatic bass counterpart. “On each record, I try to
pull something from the people, who deeply influenced me. [“Lonesome
Lover’] is me giving some love to Abbey Lincoln,” Porter explains.
Regarding “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” he reveals that it’s just
one of those standards that speaks to him on a deeply personal level.
“I can live in that song. It’s a hard song to sing but given my
personality, I’m cool being vulnerable.” Porter’s
“heart-on-the-sleeves” lyrics play an integral role in his appeal.
Somehow heartache fuels some of his most winning compositions. Such
instances happen on the misty-eyed piano-duo “Water Under
Bridges,” a lament dealing with challenges of shifting past a broken
relationship. While “Movin’” boasts a peppy exterior thanks to
its funky groove, the lyrics tells a different story as the
protagonist tries to win back a fleeing lover. Three of Liquid
Spirit’s best yet bruised moments are “Wolf Cry,” “Brown
Grass,” and “Hey Laura.” “Wolf Cry” is another piano-voice
duo as Porter croons from the perspective of romantic martyr, who
constantly comforts a friend, who never reciprocates the amorous
affections but instead routinely returns to a bad relationship. On the
somber ballad, “Hey Laura,” Porter, on the brink of breakup, pleas
for tenderness from a nonresponsive lover, while on the melancholy
“Brown Grass,” Porter admits to leaving a solid relationship for
something that initially seemed more fulfilling but quickly revealed
to be the very opposite. Romance’s sunnier side radiates on
Porter’s carefree “Wind Song,” a subtly whimsical gem in which
he sings of everlasting love and on “No Love Dying,” which deals
with the same conceit as Porter declares gently about his longstanding
love regardless of unforeseeable bumps in the road. Porter shares his
socio-political insight on the startling ballad “When Love Was
King,” a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther, Jr. and on the gritty
jazz-funk workout, “Free,” on which Porter reflects on the
struggles of a working-class family that strives to make things better
for their children. * * * Raised in California, Porter’s mother was
a minister, and he cites the Bakersfield Southern Gospel sound, as
well as his mother’s Nat King Cole record collection, as fundamental
influences on his own sound. Porter began singing in small jazz clubs
in San Diego while attending San Diego State University on a football
scholarship, where he played outside linebacker. Eventually it was
music that Porter chose to pursue full-time at the encouragement of
local musicians including his mentor Kamau Kenyatta. Kenyatta invited
Porter to visit him in the studio in Los Angeles, where he was
producing flutist Hubert Laws' album Remembers the Unforgettable Nat
King Cole. When Laws overheard Porter singing along while he was
tracking the Charlie Chaplin song "Smile," he was so impressed with
the young singer that he decided to include Porter on the album.
Another fortunate twist of fate was the presence that day of Laws'
sister, Eloise, a singer who was soon to join the cast of a new
musical theater production It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues. Porter had
minimal theatrical experience but was cast in one of the show’s lead
roles when the play opened in Denver, and he eventually followed it to
Off-Broadway and then Broadway, where The New York Times, in its 1999
rave review, mentioned Porter among the show's "powerhouse line up of
singers.” It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues went on to earn both Tony
and Drama Desk Award nominations that year. Porter eventually put down
roots in Brooklyn, and in 2010 released his debut album Water (Motéma
Music), which earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
His sophomore album Be Good (Motéma Music) followed in 2012 and
earned him his second GRAMMY nomination for Best Traditional R&B
Performance. Despite having now recorded or shared the stage with the
likes of Van Morrison, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves,
Nicola Conte, and David Murray, Porter remains grounded and humbled by
all the new accolades. “Sometimes I haven’t had a chance to absorb
and enjoy some of the audiences that I’ve been in front of,
especially some of the icons of the music like Wynton and Herbie,”
Porter says, “And they give me so much open-arm love; I couldn’t
fathom that two years ago.” With the release of Liquid Spirit,
Porter’s soaring career will surely ascend even higher.
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14/08/2020 Last update