Jazz Vocalist Gregory Porter Receives Grammy® Nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album
Gregory Porter’ s Debut, Water, Receives GRAMMY® Nomination as Best Jazz Vocal Album
A scant six months after the release of his debut album, Water, vocalist Gregory Porter has been nominated in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category of the 53rd Annual Grammy® Awards. Porter has received raves internationally for Water,
which cracked the JazzWeek Top 10 radio chart shortly after its May
release, and which has been selling briskly in the US and Europe. AllMusic.com
called Gregory “an absolute showstopper of personalized soul” and
Straight No Chaser declared, “Simply put, Gregory Porter may be our next
great jazz singer.” Porter continues to gain consistent praise as one
of the best male vocalists on the scene today, with comparisons to Joe
Williams, Nat King Cole and Donny Hathaway. Water is also being singled
out on several “Best Of 2010” year-end lists.
For the recording of Water,
Porter tapped a powerful cadre of players, among them the iconic alto
sax player James Spaulding (Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby
Hutcherson, et al,) who plays a featured role on two tracks: “Wisdom”
and “Black Nile.” The CD was produced by saxophonist, pianist and
composer Kamau Kenyatta, and features seven stellar original
compositions by Porter that range in style from velvet jazz ballads to
the searing soul anthem “1960 What, which has been storming radio
airwaves.
On
this emotionally intimate debut, Porter bares his soul to reveal a
performer and songwriter of unusual depth. His moving ballad, “Illusion,” about the struggles one faces in relationships, releases this month as the first video single of the album.
Porter’s
vocal prowess has earned him international recognition, prompting
Wynton Marsalis, who has tapped Porter several times to perform as a
guest vocalist with his Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, to go on
record citing him as “a fantastic young singer,” and Germany’s Jazz
Thing magazine to laud Porter’s “deep blues-rooted voice, branching out
in soul spheres.” Interest in the UK is strong. Porter appeared in a
two page spread in Echoes Magazine and vocalist and radio personality
Jamie Cullum will feature Porter on an upcoming segment of his popular
BBC-3 radio program.
Porter performs live every Thursdays at Smoke in New York City and will appear this January 8th at Irridium in NYC on a triple bill with fellow Motema artists Geri Allen and Charnett Moffett.