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Water is the debut studio album by American jazz musician Gregory Porter. It was released under the Motéma Music label on May 11, 2010.

Reception

Christopher Loudon of JazzTimes stated “The intersection of Kurt Elling and Sammy Davis Jr. may seem an unfathomable junction, but that’s precisely where you’ll find Gregory Porter. On his debut album, consisting largely of original tunes that are as uniformly impressive as his sound, Porter takes the best of Davis-the superior interpretive skills, clarion tone and immaculate diction that were too often overwhelmed by staginess-and marries it to the best of Elling, complete with some solid scatting”.

Phil Johnson of The Independent wrote “Tipped by Jamie Cullum as one to watch, Porter is a deep-voiced vocalist from Bakersfield, California. There’s an obvious debt to Kurt Elling but Porter seems relatively unbound by technique, sounding less mannered and more soulful as a result”.

Track listing
All songs written by Gregory Porter, except where noted.

1. “Illusion” 3:02
2. “Pretty” 6:19
3. “Magic Cup” 6:11
4. “Skylark”
Hoagy CarmichaelJohnny Mercer
8:17
5. “Black Nile” Wayne Shorter 4:55
6. “Wisdom”
Daniel JacksonGregory Porter
9:30
7. “1960 What?” 12:26
8. “But Beautiful”
Jimmy van HeusenJohnny Burke
5:34
9. “Lonely One” 5:41
10. “Water” 4:01
11. “Feeling Good”
Anthony NewleyLeslie Bricusse
3:01

Personnel
Alto Saxophone – James Spaulding, Yoske Sato
Arranged By – Chip Crawford, Gregory Porter, Kamau Kenyatta
Bass – Aaron James
Drums – Chuck McPherson, Emanuel Harrold
Piano – Chip Crawford
Trombone – Robert Stringer
Trumpet – Curtis Taylor , Kafele Bandele , Melvin Vines
Vocals – Gregory Porter

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Released: May 11, 2010
Recorded: August 19–20, 2009
Studio 58 North Six Media Lab, Brooklyn, New York City
Length: 68:57
Label: Motéma (MTM-41)
Producer: Kamau Kenyatta

Gregory Porter, Gregory Porter Albums, Gregory Porter Singer, Gregory Porter Songs