Acclaimed jazz artist Gregory Porter is making this holiday season a little brighter with the debut of his first-ever Christmas album, Christmas Wish. On the festive compilation, which drops on Friday, November 3rd, the two-time GRAMMY Award-winning musician pays homage to his favorite time of year and salutes jazz and soul greats whose songs embody the spirit of the season.
Christmas Wish is Porter’s interpretation of what the season is all about: sharing, caring and renewal. The collection includes Christmas carols and standards à la Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, such as “Silent Night” and “Little Drummer Boy,” as well as soulfully jazzy renditions of Stevie Wonder’s “Someday At Christmas” and Marvin Gaye’s “Purple Snowflakes.”
Porter puts his personal spin on the yuletide season with three original songs that include the title track “Christmas Wish,” the lead single “Everything’s Not Lost” and “Heart For Christmas.” Along for the sleigh ride will be his longtime band and producer Troy Miller to help him spread holiday cheer.
The lead single “Everything’s Not Lost” is a piano-driven message of love and caring in the face of chaos and despair. “I'm always thinking of balance,” Porter explained in press for the track’s release. “That has been instilled in me and it keeps coming up in a lot of my music. At your highest, at your greatest, at your most pleasant time, don't forget about other people who are suffering,” he said, summing up the song and the album’s theme.
The second single and title track “Christmas Wish,” with its organ chords, handclapping and a choir, is an upbeat, joyful track with gospel overtones. It is a loving tribute to his dear mother who passed away when in his early 20s. Porter affectionally recalls his fondest memories of Christmases with her and her loving and giving spirit and how she instilled those values in him. His own wish is to kiss his mother again on Christmas Day.
While we’re excited for the entire album, we are really looking forward to Gregory’s rendition of Frank Loesser’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” featuring a guest appearance by GRAMMY Award-winning jazz songbird Samara Joy. This is a duet that will surely make our Christmas merry and bright.
If the first two tracks are a preview of what’s to come, Gregory Porter’s Christmas Wish promises to be a timeless classic that will fill people with the warmth of the Christmas season for years to come. The 12-track album will be released on Blue Note Records and is available now for pre-save/pre-order, with exclusive autographed vinyl also available for purchase. Take a listen to “Everything’s Not Lost” and “Christmas Wish” and view their festive visualizers as you check out the album’s cover art and tracklist below.
Gregory Porter Christmas Wish tracklist:
1. Silent Night
2. Christmas Waltz
3. Everything’s Not Lost (Written by Gregory Porter)
4. Someday At Christmas
5. Purple Snowflakes
6. Little Drummer Boy
7. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? feat. Samara Joy
8. Christmas Wish (Written By Gregory Porter)
9. Cradle In Bethlehem
10. Do You Hear What I Hear?
11. Christmas Time Is Here
12. Heart for Christmas (Written by Gregory Porter)
