In Review--As good as it gets

-
Gregory Porter
Be Good
Motema

Ever so often a musician blazes their way into my life--Gregory Porter is one such musician.  Last year I reviewed his sizzling debut Water.  Like other journalists, I leaped onto the Marvin Gaye comparison bandwagon. Oh, yes, there’s much to compare between the two musicians such as powerful voices that move mountains, a storytelling gift, and delightful music arrangements.  On the sophomore CD, Be Good,Gregory roots himself deep with the African-American culture of NYC and currently resides in Brooklyn.  Listen to the rousing third track, On My Way To Harlem in Porter gives homage to Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye and the author Langston Hughes. He croons, more or less, roars, “You can’t keep me away from where I was born.  I was baptized by my daddy’s horn.”

Porter sings from a vibrant palette and his songs range from the tender, yet ironic title track in which he waxes metaphors about lions and cages, to the sweet homage to his mother, Mother's Song.  Porter swings, croons, roars, and shifts through several mood swings throughout the duration of the recording.  Meanwhile he’s collaborating with producer Brian Bacchus, arranger and Kamau Kenyatta, and the spectacular musicians Chip Crawford (piano), Aaron James (bass), Yosuke Sato (alto sax), Tivon Pennicott (tenor sax), Emmanuel Harrold (drums) and Kenyon Harrold (trumpet).  The warm production, crisps clear horns, and tight jazz rhythm section feels inviting and nostalgic since the music reflects to 1970s jazz and soul music.

Personally, I’m enjoying this entire album from start to finish.  And on this rainy Sunday afternoon, Be Good hits the spot, leaving me in a reflective mood.  A voice and storytelling gift like Porter’s only comes around once or twice in a decade, if even.  Be Good with its mix of jazz elegance, and soulful performances might lead some music fans to shout from rooftops or at least heat up the social networks.  Be Good is so good and too good to pass by without giving the album a listen.

http://www.motema.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Peyote Songs & The Native American Church

-
Image
Father Peyote: Songs of the Native American Church Introduction to the Peyote Church Ceremony This is an archival article written in 2003.  It's not updated.  For more recent recordings, go to Canyon Records website, http://www.canyonrecords.com When some people speak of Native American ceremonies, the peyote ceremony or the ingestion of the hallucinogen peyote (contains mescaline) usually surfaces. However, there is too much false information being passed around in the non-native community surrounding peyote meetings. The first thing people need to know about the Native American connection to peyote is that the plant is sacred medicine ingested as a sacrament during healing ceremonies of the Native American Church. The second thing, people need to know is that the Native American Church is not a set structure like the Christian Church. The peyote meeting could take place in a Navajo hogan or a teepee. And finally, since the peyote meeting does in part derive from Nat
Read more

The Practice--Treasure Hunt from the book Whole Music

-
Image
Excerpt from Whole Music The Practice: Musical Treasure Hunt Similar to treasure hunts from our childhood, I’m going to send you on a music treasure hunt in which the pleasures are many.  Pretend that you are a song catcher visiting other cultures where you collect new sounds. While I mentioned sound healers earlier, another important player with music preservation are ethnomusicologists who combine cultural anthropology with music preservation.  Two famous song catchers are the late Alan Lomax, and the world beat drummer Mickey Hart.  I recommend learning more about these song catchers through books, and documentaries. 1) Step One-- Head over to YouTube, and look up the following music traditions: ·          Aboriginal Didgeridoo ·          Finnish Runo-Songs (Traditional singer) ·          Gregorian chants ·          Griot Music of Mali (Acoustic, not pop music) ·          Sanskrit Chants Sung by Hindu Indians in Context (aka Kirtans)
Read more

Talking about Timbre

-
Image
Wikipedia As I mention in my book Whole Music , when I was a child I fell in love with timbre and the voices of the individual instruments we listened to in music class.  Each instrument conjured a specific emotions or feeling in me.  The French horn caused me to feel majestic and the cello invoked melancholy.  My moods would shift with each instrument that I heard and my moods would shift quickly. Today, I listen to more than timbre, but I have an understanding of how tone, frequencies of the tone and timbre (the color of the tone) affect me on all levels.  And I wonder what listening to an entire symphony does with its many voices, themes, keys, musical passages etc... In the concept of "whole music" I prefer not to separate musical components, but in the case of this post, I will present solo instruments for your listening and feeling pleasure. If you keep a music journal (and I hope that you do by now), write down the emotions that come up with each instrument.  R
Read more