If you havent noticed, female jazz vocalists have fallen upon tough times since the days of Ella, Sarah, Carmen and Shirley Horn. But unlike male vocalists, they arent all but extinct. The scarcity of male jazz singers has less to do with the talent out there than with finding listeners who have any interest in it. Since Sinatra, Torme, and the occasional release by the iconic Tony Bennett, the only male vocalist to receive much attention is the gifted Kurt Elling. Porter has a voice that is frequently reminiscent of Ellings, even if his scatting and vocalese are not quite up to that level as yet. Its full, slightly rough baritone quality has an edge that could easily overwhelm the spare accompaniment on a recording like this were the instruments--especially the piano--not miked exceptionally close and placed far forward in the mix. Its a long program--over an hour--that would challenge any vocalist to sustain interest without the help of a full orchestra arranged by Riddle or Mandel. Porter fares better, perhaps, than Tom Vopat, whose recent Harold Arlen tribute album, despite the undeniable talents and appealing voice of the featured artist, becomes strangely wearing about half way through. This is one of those albums that hearkens back to the 70s in its refusal to provide any relevant information (such as identifying the musicians). Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that Porter has worked closely with this rhythm section, which is unusually free and empathetic without seeming overly organized or merely tight. (There were times I had to concentrate especially hard to find one, even though the beat itself was clear and pronounced.) The songs are appealing enough, but as with most original material these days, theres excessive emphasis on the Dorian, or minor, modality. Also, the vocal power has a tendency to overwhelm some of the sensitivities implied by lyrics expressing the tenderness of love, or the wonder and feelings provoked by nature. Only in 1960s What? did some of that angry rhetoric seem entirely appropriate to the power of the words (suggestive of the 1960s notorious Algiers Motel incident in Detroit.) Alto, flugel, and trombone are all used sparingly and tastefully. The altoist employs the virtually generic, tightly wound, squeezed sound that has been in vogue ever since fusion and New Age music became ubiquitous (where have the individual instrumental voices gone? the inimitable, full-throated, embodied sound of Cannonball, Stitt, Desmond, Pepper, Woods, Bird--or Hodges?). A highlight is the minimalist but highly effective accompaniment supplied by the pianist. He pulls off an especially beautiful and surprising key modulation in the introduction to Hoagys/Mercers Skylark and contributes a very simple yet daring solo on Van Heusens But Beautiful, in which his playing of the melody in the lower register with his left hand is reminiscent of the arranging of Gordon Jenkins, Sinatras most frequent arranger after Nelson Riddle. On these two songs, as well as the last three vocal-piano duets, Porter is at his very best, elevating the lyrics to poetry, playing freely with the time, phrasing without regard to meter or occasionally singing way behind the beat without losing it vinylrecords.ca/gregory-porter-water-2013-spiritual-jazz-vocal-p-17153.html
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 16:04:54 +0000
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