Gregory Porter - Water - 2 x Vinyl LP's

2022 reissue

It was released in November 2010 on Motéma Music, and in hindsight the album Water appears in 2022 to be not only the phenomenon that changed Gregory Porter's status - he moved from "illustrious unknown" to "affirmed mainstay contemporary jazz star" - but also an unavoidable reference in the African American vocal artistry of this new millennium. By reissuing the record and making it an integral part of its catalogue alongside the singer's other recordings, the eminent Blue Note label has breathed a second life into this authentic masterpiece, giving it new visibility together with its deserved place in the recent history of vocal jazz.

When it first appeared, this was a first album by a largely unknown singer who was already 40: nothing seemed to indicate that its reputation would spread far beyond the world of jazz. Recorded in August 2009 in Brooklyn, under the aegis of producer/arranger Kamau Kenyatta, Water originally had no other ambition than to allow Gregory Porter to display the extraordinarily emotive powers of his voice, and finally reach a connoisseur audience who would provide him with the springboard that could launch his solo career. And yet the contagious rustling of those enthusiastic recommendations that were now spreading fast by word of mouth would catapult that record into the spotlight.