Two-time Grammy winner Gregory Porter has announced an expansive, 34-track double album called Still Rising.
The new collection is a curated selection of brand new songs, covers, duets and beloved favourites from throughout his career.
Following the release of his sixth studio album All Rise — which was named one of JAZZ.FM91’s top albums of 2020 — Porter looks to restate the driving forces behind his music and life at this current moment.
“The album title echoes my last one, All Rise, because I am reiterating something evident in my music and the new songs here — this upward-looking optimism about life and love,” Porter explains. “It’s an unfinished story for me, both musically and personally. And I’m still learning how to do this. Still rising.”
The first disc will feature five brand new tracks, two new arrangements and nine previously released fan favourites. The second half includes Porter’s rendition of classics like Grandma’s Hands, The Girl from Ipanema and Fly Me to the Moon, with appearances by Jamie Cullum, Paloma Faith, Lalah Hathaway, Lizz Wright and Jeff Goldblum — and even recordings of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Julie London and Buddy Holly.
You can hear the lead single Dry Bones below.
Porter has enjoyed a prolific decade of success, earning seven total Grammy nominations and winning two of them for his albums Liquid Spirit and Take Me to the Alley. With this release, the singer-songwriter asserts that he’s only just getting started.
“This is my music up until now, but it’s not a ‘Greatest Hits,” Porter says. “They often come at the end of someone’s career, and I still feel new and young in mine. I have much more to say. There is always something in an artist’s career that people don’t know about — I wanted to bring it to their attention.”
Here’s the full track listing for Still Rising:
Disc 1
- Hey Laura
- Liquid Spirit
- Revival
- Illusion
- 1960 What?
- L.O.V.E
- Holding On
- Concorde
- If Love Is Overrated
- I Will
- Real Good Hands
- My Babe
- Bad Girl Love
- No Love Dying
- Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?
- Dry Bones
- Love Runs Deeper
- It’s Probably Me
Disc 2:
- Natural Blues (with Moby & Amythyst Kiah)
- Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (with Jamie Cullum)
- Raining in My Heart (with Buddy Holly)
- People Will Say We’re in Love (with Ella Fitzgerald)
- GrandMas’ Hands (with Ben L’Oncle Soul)
- Christmas Prayer (with Paloma Faith)
- Insanity (with Lalah Hathaway)
- Make Someone Happy (with Jeff Goldblum)
- Fly Me to the Moon (with Julie London)
- Satiated (with Dianne Reeves)
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (with Renée Fleming)
- The Girl From Ipanema (with Nat King Cole)
- Water Under Bridges (with Laura Mvula)
- Right Where You Are (with Lizz Wright)
- Heart and Soul (with Yo-Yo Ma & The Silkroad Ensemble, Lisa Fischer)
- Making Love (with Trijntje Oosterhuis)
Still Rising arrives Nov. 5 via Decca / Blue Note.
