IMMIGRATION NATION
About the album
With a sweeping collection of new music, acclaimed trumpeter/composer Charlie Porter gathers a dynamic group of forward-looking musicians to celebrate America's rich immigrant history. In a time when immigration policy has become a heart-wrenching polarizing topic, Porter felt compelled to reclaim the uniting power of the word 'immigrant' through art, knowing its healing capacity can be great when crafted with intention. This diverse cast presents twelve original compositions in two sets, 'Leaving Home' & 'New Beginnings.' The ensemble burns and soars while embracing many global influences that have found their way into the music, including elements from Porter's Lebanese/Greek/Italian heritage, all while fully living in the essence and language of jazz.
Personnel: Charlie Porter (trumpet, flugelhorn) Nick Biello (tenor saxophone) Oscar Perez (piano) David Wong (bass) Kenneth Salters (drums) Sabine Kabongo (vocals).
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What others are saying...
"Porter's playing is fluid, expressive, and magnificent"
- DownBeat Magazine
"a joyful but tempered expression of optimism...poignantly voiced...nuanced performance"
- JAZZIZ Magazine
"What is most striking about this record is that above and beyond an important and all inclusive social narrative, the music is honest and engaged fully with the embodiment of what jazz is musically. The narrative is expressed without the music being over-produced or obliged to that narrative. The multi-colored compositional content, and soulful playing by all participants magnifies two grand commonalities shared by the American people—that we are a nation of immigrants, and that jazz music is the means by which we most elegantly state our cultural identity."
- Paul Rauch, ALL ABOUT JAZZ
"Impressionistic with an almost symphonic sweep, this is an old school/modern set with real boots on the ground feel. A sterling merger of politics and music."
- Chris Spector, Midwest Record
"Sublime...Joyous...Fascinating"
- Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition