''Liquid Spirit'' is the third studio album by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician

Gregory Porter Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He has twice won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album: first in 2014 for '' Liquid Spirit'' and then again in 2017 for '' Take Me to the Alley''. Ear ...

. It was released through

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

on September 2, 2013. The album won the Grammy Award for

Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

in 2014. The record also produced six singles.

Critical reception

John Fordham of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' stated 'It's a better balanced Porter album than formerly, and as classily polished and confident as is usual from Blue Note." Will Layman of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' commented "Gregory Porter is now flat-out in the jazz spotlight. Where he deserves to be. What that means, commercially, in 2013 may be limited. But now that he is recording for the art form's marquis label, Porter has the chance to change the art, to enrich the audience, to sing from a higher mountaintop. ''Liquid Spirit'' is a beautiful extension of that clarion cry." Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

added "While his first two recordings revealed a major new talent with their promise, ''Liquid Spirit'' is a giant step forward artistically, and for the listener, an exercise in musical inspiration." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

s Phil Johnson noted "The soulful vocalist follows his two excellent indie albums with a major-label debut that contains few surprises yet deepens the story so far". Mike Hobart of ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' wrote "Gregory Porter ’s largely self-penned major label debut is an artful and free-spirited blend of love songs, social commentary and reflections on life... The lyrics are heart-on-sleeve, and occasionally odd, but Porter's rich baritone oozes confidence and brings each syllable life".

Commercial reception

The album entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 192 with around 3,000 copies sold, and peaked at No. 187 on the chart. It peaked at No. 2 on Jazz Albums. The album has sold 43,000 copies in the US as of April 2016. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at No. 9 in the chart, and it was certified Platinum by the BPI on July 8, 2016.

Track listing

All songs written by

, and arranged by Porter, Chip Crawford and Kamau Kenyatta, except where noted. Horns arranged by Kamau Kenyatta.''Liquid Spirit'' (

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

, a division of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. 2013. 2013 Deluxe Edition bonus tracks / Japanese Edition bonus tracks 2014 Deluxe Edition bonus tracks 2014 Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD 2015 Special Edition bonus tracks

Personnel

;Featured artists *

– vocals * Chip Crawford – piano * Aaron James – bass (all tracks, except 4, 7) * Emanuel Harrold – drums (exc. 4, 7, 14) * Yosuke Sato –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

(1–3, 6, 8, 10, 12) *

Tivon Pennicott Tivon Pennicott is an American composer, orchestrator and tenor saxophonist. Of Jamaican parentage, he grew up in Marietta, Georgia, but moved to Miami, Florida, where he studied music at the University of Miami. On a visit in Los Angeles, he met a ...

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

(2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12) * Curtis Taylor – trumpet (2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12) * Glenn Patscha –

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(5, 6, 8),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

(6) ;Production * Brian Bacchus – production * Kamau Kenyatta – associate producer *

Jay Newland Jay Newland is an American music producer, engineer and mixer, perhaps best known for his work with Norah Jones on her 2002 debut album ''Come Away with Me'', one of the best-selling albums of all time, with 27 million units sold worldwide to da ...

–

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, mixing * Ted Tuthill, Owen Mulholland – assistant engineers * Fran Cathcart – pre-mix editing for track 6 * Mark Wilder – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Gregory Porter albums Blue Note Records albums Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album Vocal jazz albums