Prolific New Orleans bassist George Porter Jr., has released a brand new instrumental album entitled Porter’s Pocket with his longstanding quartet the Runnin’ Pardners available today via Color Red. Porter Jr. is joined by his longtime collaborator keyboardist Michael Lemmler (Jubilation, TriFunctA), drummer Terrence Houston (The Funky Meters, Toubab Krewe), and newest member Chris Adkins (Raphael Saadiq, Mark Broussard) on guitar. Listen to Porter's Pocket HERE.
Porter Jr, age 77, achieved early success in the 60s and 70s as a member of seminal funk band The Meters, whose tunes such as “Cissy Strut” and “Hey Pocky A-Way” have become internationally recognized funk standards. Additionally, Porter is recognized as a seasoned and sought after session player whose discography includes contributions on hits by Patti Labelle, Robert Palmer, Warren Haynes, David Byrne, John Scofield, Devon Allman and Tori Amos amongst others. Porter Jr. and his various projects continue a prolific touring schedule still racking up over 100 live shows a year at tastemaker venues and prestigious festivals.
Porter’s Pocket is a return to form for Porter, eschewing attempts as a lyricist or fusion composer for the free-form funky instrumental music that he pioneered with the Meters. Comprising 8 instrumental tracks, the new album combines vintage funk rhythms, held down by Porter and drummer Terrence Houston, alongside colorful guitar and keyboard work from Chris Adkins and Mike Lemmler respectively. ‘Porter’s Pocket’ weaves through an array of different musical terrain, ranging from New Orleans street beats, to swing, to the minimalistic spaced-out blues of the album’s closing track “Latenighter.”
In regards to the title, Porter states “a lot of the foundations of these songs were drum and bass pockets we made up on stage at our Monday night Maple Leaf shows that we went back and revisited in the studio.” Hardcore fans will recognize a lot of the foundational musical concepts from live concert tapes and streams, however, with some new twists and turns. Porter and his band have played weekly at the Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans since 2015. The band’s live sound engineer, Joe Kalb, was hired to produce the record in order to further dig into that energy, saying “we put the band all together in the studio and had them cut it live, only a few takes per song, no charts. They just talked down the tunes and then cut it.”
New Orleans is very clearly the jumping off point for this record with Porter being complemented by long time local cohorts the Runnin’ Pardners. The opener, and first single, “Tito’s Dumpling Machine” sounds as if it could be a Meter’s outtake from the 60s, while “See Me? See Me? See Me?” feels like a brass-band standard played by electric instruments. The tune “Sauce on the Side” is of particular note for its seamless move from a swing to reggae feel. Overall, the album is a testament to both Porter’s personal musical adventure as well as the intensely rhythmic nature of New Orleans music through its many generational variations.
For more information and a complete list of George Porter Jr. 's tour dates, visit georgeporterjr.com.
