Support: Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
The music on the new album ("Take Me To The Alley") reflects how much Gregory Porter has grown as an artist and a person in the recent past, during which he has toured almost non-stop due to his enormous international success.
Only recently did the singer move his family from Brooklyn back to his hometown of Bakersfield, California, to be closer to his siblings again. ''The intensity of the touring life made me want to be more grounded,'' he explains of the move.
''Liquid Spirit'' - the follow-up to the two critically acclaimed and Grammy-nominated albums ''Water'' (2010) and ''Be Good'' (2012) - quickly became a global phenomenon. The album sold a million copies worldwide and, with over 20 million streams, is the most streamed jazz album of the moment. In Germany and the United Kingdom, ''Liquid Spirit'' went platinum; in France, the Netherlands and Austria, it went gold. In the U.S., Porter was able to appear on the nationally televised shows ''The Tonight Show'' and ''Jimmy Kimmel Live.''
Hailing as ''America's next great jazz singer'' by Esquire and NPR Muisc. ''Liquid Spirit'' also earned Porter his first Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2014, while the moving ballad ''Hey Laura'' was nominated for the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance.
In the fall of 2015, Porter finally found the time to return to the studio to record'' Take Me To The Alley''. As he did with his previous three albums, he teamed up with producer Kamau Kenyatta to create a collection of stunning originals in which he explores personal matters as much as political issues. He began his partnership with Kenyatta in the mid-nineties, when he was still a student at San Diego State University. Porter, who had received a full athletic scholarship, actually wanted to pursue a professional career as a football player. But a shoulder injury ended that dream, and so he switched to his other love: music. And Kenyatta was instrumental in helping him do that as a mentor. ''Kamau has always been able to put the finishing touches on my stuff,'' Porter explains. ''And it's great how he unreservedly encourages me in what I do artistically.''
In other ways, too, Porter again relies on trusted companions: For pianist Chip Crawford (who additionally serves as the band's musical director), trumpeter Keyon Harrold, alto saxophonist Yosuke Sato, tenor saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, bassist Aaron James and drummer Emanuel Harrold already participated in the recording of his last two albums. New additions, however, include vocalist Alicia Olatuja and Czechoslovakian Hammond organist Ondřej Pivec.
Music that is timeless yet utterly contemporary. Singer-songwriter Gregory Porter is undoubtedly in that category. Now, with "Take Me To The Alley," the hotly anticipated follow-up to his sensational Blue Note debut "Liquid Spirit," he solidifies his reputation as the most formidable jazz singer-songwriter of his generation.
Lyrics source and further information: http://www.frankfurter-hof-mainz.de/programm-tickets/details/news/gregory-porter-take-me-to-the-alley-tour-2017/?tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=943588d8dc41e7fd758bacc13bd8a1da
