Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gregory Porter: Liquid Spirit

Gregory Porter: Liquid Spirit

By Bruce Lindsay
September 4, 2013
View read count

Gregory Porter has a lot to live up to. Widespread critical acclaim, Grammy nominations and reviewers suggesting that he's the next big jazz star, the man to bring jazz back to mainstream popularity, all lay a big artistic burden on his (admittedly quite broad) shoulders. Liquid Spirit is his third album and it heralds a move to a major label, Blue Note. Maybe that just raises expectations even higher. No matter—Porter meets, and even exceeds, such expectations.

Porter's voice is a joy to hear: warm, engaging, capable of conveying emotion with subtlety. He's technically impressive, but he never uses technique just to impress. He's a fine songwriter as well, combining beautiful melodies with lyrics that tell stories and express feelings that seem to come straight from the singer's heart.

For Liquid Spirit Porter has retained a quintet of musicians from his second album, Be Good (Mot��ma, 2012). The saxophones of

Yosuke Sato

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Yosuke Sato and

Tivon Pennicott

saxophone, tenor
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Tivon Pennicott come together to excellent effect on the hard bop-come-gospel flavored title track, the soulful "Movin'" and the cheerful "Wind Song" but the album's finest moments appear when the instrumental accompaniment is pared down to just

Chip Crawford

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Chip Crawford's piano,

Aaron James

" data-original-title="" title="">Aaron James' bass and

Emanuel Harrold

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Emanuel Harrold's drums.

The sad but beautiful "Water Under Bridges" keeps things really simple: just Porter's voice and Crawford's piano. The result is a three and a half minute triumph: bluesy, heartfelt and heartbreaking. "Hey Laura" and "Brown Grass" run it a close second, both songs enlivened by Harrold's sympathetic drumming. "Wind Song" is more upbeat, a celebration. Soul classic "The 'In' Crowd" swings, Harrold and James laying down the groove, Crawford crafting a strong solo and Porter making it clear that he's in with the "In" crowd—not boasting, just telling it like it is.

There's just one small cautionary note. "When Love Was King" and Sammy Cahn and Jules Styne's "I Fall In Love Too Easily," the album's closing tracks, clock in at almost seven and eight minutes respectively, double the length of most of the songs. Despite Porter's superb vocals, the songs tend to meander and lose focus: a rather downbeat follow on from the gorgeous "Movin.'"

Intriguingly, while Porter's debut album, Water (Mot��ma, 2010) gained a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album his nomination for "Real Good Hands" from Be Good (Mot��ma, 2012) was in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category. There are performances on Liquid Spirit that could readily be considered for jazz, R&B, soul or gospel awards. Porter makes the transition between genres with apparently effortless ease—he's a singer and a songwriter at the top of his game and Liquid Spirit is an inspiration.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

No Love Dying; Liquid Spirit; Lonesome Lover; Water Under Bridges; Hey Laura; Musical Genocide; Wolfcry; Free; Brown Grass; Wind Song; The ��In�� Crowd; Movin'; When Love Was King; I Fall In Love Too Easily.

Personnel

Gregory Porter

vocals

Gregory Porter: vocals; Yosuke Sato: alto saxophone; Tivon Pennicott: tenor saxophone; Chip Crawford: piano; Aaron James: double bass; Emanuel Harold: drums.

Album information

Title: Liquid Spirit | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Crown of the Continent Guitar Festiv...
< Previous

Claytonia
Next >

Gregory Porter Concerts

Sep 26 Fri

Monterey Jazz Festival 2025

Monterey Jazz
Monterey, CA

Oct 10 Fri

Gregory Porter

Teatro Real
Madrid, Spain

Oct 15 Wed

Gregory Porter

Odeon Theatre
Hobart, Australia

Oct 15 Wed

Gregory Porter

Odeon Theatre
Hobart, Australia

Oct 20 Mon

Gregory Porter

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Sydney, Australia

Oct 22 Wed

Gregory Porter

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (qpac)
Brisbane, Australia

Oct 24 Fri

Gregory Porter

Hamer Hall
Melbourne, Australia

Oct 25 Sat

Gregory Porter

Regal Theatre
Subiaco, Australia

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.