Porter highlights her ability to create a lyrical masterpiece of bluesy Americana and deliver it in a silky-smooth vocal style that underscores the eloquence of her music.
“Yes, I Do” follows Porter's success with her 2021 release, Sun Come And Shine, for which the title track received a “We Are The Music Makers” award for Best Roots/Americana/Blues song. This latest release brings back the talents of Grammy winner Cindy Cashdollar and Grammy nominee C.J. Chenier.
Porter created six of the eight delightful songs here, and blended her own sparkling style into two traditional blues covers. She handles the vocals in her inimitable honeyed style, and plays piano or Wurlitzer or Hammond B3, sometimes all three, on each cut.
A rollicking “Before We Call It A Day” opens the session, upbeat in mood and lyrics, as Porter blends lead and backup vocals with honky-tonk piano into a vibrant message: “I wanna race the clock, kiss the moon / Kick up my heels, and work the room / And have a hell of a night / Before we call it a day.” The title track, “Yes I Do,” follows, mellowing the mood with Porter again singing her own backup in front of her Wurlitzer and B3 lines. Her gentle vocals accentuate the romantic offering: “I’ll spend my time just making rhymes into these / Hopeful little lines / And leave this lonely broken heartache behind. / Cause I love you, I love you, yes I do.”
“Over You,” a softly romantic ballad follows, enhanced by vocals in the upper register that build a haunting love song into an ethereal presence. “All I Needed Was You” sparks a lovely sentiment behind Chenier's New Orleans fire and Porter's rousing piano: “For all my dreams to come true / All I needed was you.” “Don't Worry No More” opens with a flourish of horns that leads to Porter's bluesy tale fueled by her piano and B3. Once again, her vocal charms provide a soft counterpoint to the toughness of the lyrical message: “Baby, don’t worry no more / See me walkin’ out the door.”
The Leroy Carr classic 1928 blues “How Long” gets Porter's subtle vocal treatment with her classy piano and a sweet flugelhorn solo adding unique flavor. “Lucky Dust” opens with a Dixieland swagger with Porter and her piano leading the way through a joyous take that ends with another crackling, jazzy flourish. The sprightly closer feels just right as a finale for this adventurous set; a lighthearted, innovative cover of the 1925 Stuart Balcom and Bessie Smith chestnut, “Good Ol' Wagon,” with just Porter caressing the piano and Randy Andos' easythumping tuba.
You wouldn't guess it from listening, but among Porter's generous list of accomplishments (actor, screenwriter, composer) is her interest in martial arts. She holds a second-degree black belt in Tai Jujitsu and has advanced training in Kali and Jeet Kun Do. What do they add to this thoroughly enjoyable music? As the legendary lyricist Sammy Cahn once put it: "Ain't that a kick in the head?"
Jim White (a former music writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette & now writes the Blues Roadhouse)
BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer Porter is an award-winning musician, actor and screenwriter. A musician's musician blessed with a beautiful voice, Jennifer has performed a repertoire that spans from Jazz and Blues to Country and Opera. She has sung with Classical and Jazz Orchestras, including the world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra. At heart though, Jennifer considers herself a roots musician, and is still most at home singing at the piano while banging out an old blues tune in a red-hot 88 style.
TRACKING LIST:
- Before We Call It A Day 3:49
- Yes, I Do 4:21
- Over You 4:29
- All I Needed Was You 4:00
- Don’t Worry No More 3:38
- How Long 4:09
- Lucky Dust (Shining Through) 3:31
- Good Ol’ Wagon 3:17
Jennifer has recorded nine albums to date, and will be releasing her newest, Yes, I Do!, in February of 2024. Her last album, the internationally critically-acclaimed Sun Come And Shine, recorded with legendary drummer and music director Bernard Purdie, was released in June 2021. Jennifer was joined on this sensational project by Grammy winners Christian McBride and
Cindy Cashdollar and Grammy nominees Rob Paparozzi and C.J. Chenier. The title track from Sun Come And Shine received a 2021 We Are The Music Makers award for Best
Roots/Americana/Blues song. In this same competition, Jennifer was also nominated for best Soul Song, Best Adult Contemporary Song, and Best Female Artist. Sun Come And Shine hit #1 on The Roots Music Reports Jazzy Blues Album Charts and stayed in the top 10 for ten weeks. Seven songs from the album also reached the top 10 on Roots Music Report’s Jazzy Blues Song Charts. Four songs from the album reached the top 10 (#2 being the highest position) on Portugal's Blues Radio Charts, with Portugal's Smooth FM naming it Album Of The Week.
Jennifer is also an esteemed actor, with more than 90 professional stage credits, including Patsy
Cline in Always...Patsy Cline. She starred in, and composed and performed the film score for BALLAD OF IDA AND DOOB (1999) and wrote, starred in, and composed and performed the film scores for the critically acclaimed MR. BARRINGTON (2003), and the multiple award-winning 40 WEST (2011) for which Jennifer received awards for acting, original score, original song, and original screenplay. Jennifer holds a second-degree black belt in Tai Jujitsu and has advanced training in Kali and Jeet Kun Do. In 1989 Jennifer was the first vocalist in Maine to be inducted into the prestigious musical honor society, Pi Kappa Lambda, which recognizes excellence in both musical performance and academics. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and learning new languages. Association.
WEBLINKS
- OS: www.jenniferportermusic.com
- FB: www.facebook.com/JenniferNicholePorter
- IG: www.instagram.com/jennifernporter/
📃Recensie: Jennifer Porter – Sun Come And Shine
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