September 5, 2013
GRAMMY-nominated jazz and soul singer Gregory Porter has just released the music video for “Liquid Spirit,” the title track of his impressive Blue Note debut, which will be released in the U.S. on September 17. Porter has also announced Fall tour dates in support of the new album including appearances in Los Angeles at the El Rey Theatre on September 25 and two New York City shows at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan on October 24 and Littlefield in Brooklyn on October 26.
NPR Music recently called Porter “the next great male jazz singer,” while The Wall Street Journal wrote “Liquid Spirit is shot through with gospel, blues and R&B influences,” adding that “the title track pairs soulful horns with a deep, enveloping bassline that frames the California native’s supple tenor.” The New York Times reviewer Ben Ratliff was at Porter’s triumphant debut appearance at this year’s Newport Jazz Festival and wrote that he is “a powerful baritone who writes his own songs,” describing his style as coming “from a more ’70s or early ’80s-oriented place in the African-American jazz tradition, strong and sometimes experimental yet serenely unacademic, and mightily good.” The UK’s influential music magazine MOJO awarded Liquid Spirit 4-stars in a review that raved about Porter’s “massive vocal power offset by a rich tone and delicate control,” and declared that “the Brooklyn-based singer with the rich baritone and the ever-present Kangol hat is on a mission to revive old-school musical values.”
Liquid Spirit – which is currently available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon – is further justification for Porter’s quick ascent into the top ranks of jazz and R&B singers today. It features 3 covers and 11 new originals which showcase Porter’s innate gift for writing poignant songs based upon personal experiences with a relatable and emotional immediacy. Porter sees the album 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 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.”
GREGORY PORTER – FALL TOUR DATES
Sept. 5 – Blue Note Nagoya – Nagoya, Japan
Sept. 6 – Blue Note Tokyo – Tokyo, Japan
Sept. 11 – Cabaret Sauvage – Paris, France
Sept. 12 – Espace Ligeria – Montlouis-sur-Loire, France
Sept. 13 – Grande Halle de La Villette – Paris, France
Sept. 14 – Blue Note Milan – Milan, Italy
Sept. 16 – Kulturfestival Kunstflecken – Neumunster, Germany
Sept. 20 – Monterey Jazz Festival – Monterey, CA
Sept. 21 – Russian River Jazz & Blues Festival – Guerneville, CA
Sept. 22 – Yoshi’s – Oakland, CA
Sept. 25 – El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Sept. 28 – Robert Ferst Center for the Arts – Atlanta, CA
Oct. 9 – Centro Cultural de Belem – Lisbon, Portugal
Oct. 11 – Casa Da Musica – Porto, Portugal
Oct. 12 – So What’s Next Festival – Eindhoven, Holland
Oct. 13 – Main Hall De Doelen – Rotterdam, Holland
Oct. 14 – Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, Holland
Oct. 15 – De Oosterpoort – Groningen, Holland
Oct. 16 – Concert De Vereeniging – Nijmegen, Holland
Oct. 18 – El Mediator / Theatre De L’archipel – Perignan, France
Oct. 19 – Theatre Ollioules – Chateau Vallon, France
Oct. 20 – Salle du Vigean A Eysines – Eysines, France
Oct. 21 – Cave Cooperative de Bouillargues – Nimes, France
Oct. 24 – Le Poisson Rouge – New York, NY
Oct. 25 – Miami Nice Jazz Festival – Miami, FL
Oct. 26 – Littlefield – Brooklyn, NY
Oct. 27 – Shea Center for the Performing Arts – Wayne, NJ
Oct. 30 – Royal Albert Hall – London, England
Nov. 1 – Art Across Campus Legends of Jazz Series – Syracuse, NY
Nov. 14 – Kulturzentrum Kammgarn – Kaiserslautern, Germany
Nov. 15 – Circus Krone – Munich, Germany
Nov. 16 – Konzerthaus Dortmund – Dortmund, Germany
Nov. 18 – Stadthalle – Heidelberg, Germany
Nov. 19 – Alte Oper – Frankfurt, Germany
Nov. 20 – Theater Am Aegi – Hannover, Germany
Nov. 21 – Kammermusiksaal – Berlin, Germany
Nov. 23 – Laeiszhalle – Hamburg, Germany
Nov. 24 – Die Glocke – Bremen, Germany
Nov. 25 – Tonhalle Dusseldorf – Dusseldorf, Germany
