We all have different musical preferences: some prefer to spend evenings with classical music, others listen to pop music or rock in the background while working, others spend sleepless nights writing code and listening to electronic music in headphones. But when it comes to such a musical genre as jazz, many of them do not deny that sometimes there is such a mood when you want to listen to a couple of jazz compositions. This desire for some remains a mystery, but it can be easily explained: jazz is focused on the closest connection between vocals and music, which makes this genre attractive to fans of different genres. An important role in this was played by famous jazz performers, among whose contemporaries I would like to separately mention Gregory Porter.
Gregory Porter proves that jazz can be enjoyed by everyone
Porter quickly gained phenomenal popularity, and for several years his compositions have been sounding all over the world. He could become the second Michael Kiwanuka and go into pop music, but Porter's voice ('honey' baritone) sounds so powerful and sweet that people themselves want to plunge into the melodic flow again and again. And this is typical only for jazz.
Gregory is not only a jazz singer, he is also a Broadway artist, composer and actor. It is easy to recognize him by the famous 'jazz cap', as the performer himself calls it – the big hat has long become Porter's stage 'trick'. What got us so hooked by his work, for example, is that this is not a jazz singer in his classical sense. This performer combines jazz motives with modern music, and he does it so well that everything else fades into the background. No wonder he won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for 2014's Liquid Spirit and 2017's Take Me To The Alley.
Of course, it was not for nothing that we started talking about jazz and Porter in particular – the other day he released a new album 'All Rise', in which the performer again appeared in the best light. He combines powerful, but at the same time gentle vocals with, at first glance, not the most suitable instruments, but the composer's past makes itself felt – the final combination is simply incredible.
In addition to the video for the track 'Revival', Porter also released a cool video for 'If Love Is Overrated' for the album's release.
Music connoisseurs of this genre will surely find some kind of reference to the work of the famous Nat King Cole. Not for nothing, apparently, Porter dedicated the musical 'Nat King Cole and me' to him. Everything is good in the new album – from the first chords to the 'vocal explosion', which can be traced in the same song 'Revival'.
The album 'All Rise' consists of 16 tracks and will give you almost an hour and a half of selected jazz, which we would recommend listening even to those who usually prefer music from other genres. The album is already available on Boom and Yandex.Music, as well as other music streaming services.