Album All Rise (Gregory Porter). Songs and videos online

Gregory Porter has the kind of warm, enveloping voice that just seems to flow forever on his sixth studio album, 2020's buoyantly sophisticated All Rise! It's a sound that has earned him heaps of well-earned critical praise, not to mention six Grammy Award nominations, including wins for 2013's Liquid Spirit and 2016's Take Me to the Alley. Following his urbane 2017 tribute album Nat King Cole & Me, Porter returns to his original, crossover blend of vintage-inspired soul, jazz, and pop with All Rise! Joining him is British producer Troy Miller, who has helmed similarly genre-bending albums by Emeli Sande, Jamie Cullum, Laura Mvula, and others. Also producing a handful of tracks is Kamau Kenyatta, who has worked on all of Porter's previous albums. Returning is Porter's longtime quartet featuring pianist Chip Crawford, bassist Jahmal Nichols, drummer Emanuel Harrold, and saxophonist Tivon Pennicott. They are augmented at various times by a horn section, a vocal choir, and on several tracks, the London Symphony Orchestra Strings. Thankfully, Miller and Kenyatta know exactly where and how to frame Porter, never getting in his way but adding just the right amount of organic textures and old-school grooves to the singer's already evocative songs. There's a vintage quality to much of All Rise! as Porter dips into his long-standing love '70s soul. "Faith in Love" is a Marvin Gaye-style ballad, punctuated by rich gospel backing vocals and angular orchestral accents. Similarly, the shimmering "Merchants of Paradise" finds Porter backed by spacey, cinematic strings and jazzy soprano sax solo from Pennicott, all of which brings to mind an impossibly accomplished combination of Terry Callier and Scott Walker. Equally engaging are tracks like the uplifting "Concorde," the earthy "Dad Gone Thing," and the ebullient "Everything You Touch Is Gold," the latter of which features a lyrical trumpet solo from guest Keyon Harrold. While the album certainly benefits from all of the rich production flair, Porter commands your attention even when he's singing rubato accompanied only by a piano, as he does on the opening to "Real Truth," his big, sun-dappled baritone pulling you deep inside the song. Particularly enrapturing is "If Love Is Overrated," in which Porter, his voice floating longingly against strings and Crawford's delicate Rhodes keyboard, embraces unabashed romance in an era rife with cynicism. He sings, "If love is overrated/Let me be the one that is naive/If love is overrated/Let me be the one that is deceived." Ultimately, there's nothing deceiving and everything to celebrate about Porter's All Rise!