Gregory Porter: Water (180g) auf 2 LPs

+ Chip Crawford, Aaron James, Emanuel Harold u.a.
*** Gatefold Cover

Mit einer Stimme die liebkost oder konfrontiert, umarmt oder ermahnt, beweist Gregory Porter so ein hohes Maß an gesanglicher Kunst, dass kein geringerer Star des Jazz als Wynton Marsalis sich aufmachte, ihn als "einen fantastischen jungen Sänger" zu bezeichnen, was den Fakt, dass Water sein Aufnahmedebüt ist, noch interessanter macht.

Momenton spielt Gregory in dem Musical Low Down Dirty Blues, welches durch die Jam-Sessions von Muddy Water, Ma Rainy, Sophie Tucker, Howlin'Wolf ond Pearl Bailey inspiriert ist. Für die Aufnahme engagierte Porter einen kraftvollen Kader von wirklich starken Musikern, unter ihnen die lkone der Alt-Saxophone-Spieler James Spaulding {Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hulcherson, and more) der eine Solo Rolle in zwei Songs bekommen hat "Wisdom" und "Black Nile".





"With a voice that can caress or confront, embrace or exhort, Gregory Porter exhibits such an incredible degree of vocal mastery that no less a jazz luminary than Wynton Marsalis has gone on record to call him "a fantastic young singer," which makes the fact that Water (out now from Motema Music) is his recording debut even more impressive.

A debut release it may be, yet Water flows with a sense of timelessness that reflects the seasoned talents of the giants of blues, gospel and soul that have influenced Porter throughout his career. Some of the singers that Porter cites as influential are familiar - Nat King Cole, Joe Williams and Donny Hathaway - and others – such as the pastor of the church he attended as a child among them - may never realize their impact on his development as an artist. While the work of singers such as Hathaway or Cole obviously helped to shape Porter’s vocal styling, his own world view, as evidenced in his seven original compositions and his striking interpretation of classic songs such as "But Beautiful" and "Skylark," adds an emotional intensity that makes each of the CD's eleven tracks speak so eloquently." (motema.com)

Rezensionen

"Seine persönliche Note bringt Porter vor allem durch seine eigene Stimmfarbe mit ein, die sich am Blues und Gospel orientiert. Begleitet wird er durch Mitstreiter aus der New Yorker Szene, welche mit Trompete, Saxophon, Klavier und Schlagzeug die typische Jazz-Atmosphäre auf dem Album erschaffen. Besonders hervorzuheben ist die große Ab-wechslung zwischen flotteren Songs („Pretty“, „Black Nile“) und langsameren Stücken („Skylark“, „But Beautiful“), ähnlich wie bei den Gezeiten Ebbe und Flut, was dem CD-Titel „Wasser“ entgegenkommt." (soulsite.de)

"With a voice that can caress or confront, embrace or exhort, Gregory Porter exhibits such an incredible degree of vocal mastery that no less a jazz luminary than Wynton Marsalis has gone on record to call him “a fantastic young singer," which makes the fact that Water is his recording debut even more impressive." (allaboutjazz.com)

"Water brings to the forefront a new talent in Gregory Porter, an artist who has a number of classic, familiar elements in his style, but whose approach brings a freshness that both jazz and soul fans should love. I think Nat King Cole would be pleased. Highly Recommended." (soultracks.com)