If you are like me, you might be already suffering from the stress and some burnout from work .I thought we could take a breather and relax with the music of Art Porter, Jr. He is well-known in Arkansas for the “Art Porter Bill”; a law that was pushed by then-Attorney General Bill Clinton to allow minors to work in alcohol-serving bars with parents’ supervision. The law was created because Art Porter, Jr played in his father’s band and then as an independent artist in many events and locations, including night clubs, as a drummer and saxophonist since he was little. After graduating from Northwestern University, he moved to Chicago to study and perform extensively. It was there where he received a recording contract with Polygram and Virve Forecast Records in the early 1990s. He released his debut album, entitled “Pocket City”, in 1992. Sadly, four years later, Art was killed in a boating accident in Thailand.
Art’s music, even to this today, is a subtle sensation as he fused jazz with the sounds of 90’s hip hop and R&B. The pinnacle of his experimentation came in 1994 when he released “Undercover”. In this album, you can heard the chilled atmosphere of the album prominently in the self-titled song. Also, how Art tackles each musical phrase is simply magically; they are full of warmth and emotion. During the break, he keeps the song attractive by changing the rhythms, going from the warm, rich long phrases to accented, quick ones full of scale slides, sixteenth notes, and some saxophone blows. Although a summer-like song, “Undercover” can help you to feel the warm sun and cool ocean breeze in winter’s frigid nights.
