Take Me To The Alley (10th Anniversary)
Gregory Porter
Take Me to the Alley is the fourth studio album by Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist and songwriter Gregory Porter, originally released on May 6, 2016 via Blue Note Records, and now reissued as a 10th Anniversary Edition on May 8, 2026 as a limited, transparent orange double LP. The album was the eagerly anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough 2013 Platinum record Liquid Spirit, and it earned Porter the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Recorded with his longtime producer Kamau Kenyatta and his regular working band — including pianist Chip Crawford, bassist Aaron James, and drummer Emanuel Harrold — the album draws on deep soul, R&B, and classic jazz, frequently drawing comparisons to the emotional worlds of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Brook Benton. As JazzTimes observed, it maintains Porter's signature "exquisite balance of darkness and light" and a sense of intimacy "like conversations with a trusted friend."
Nearly all twelve tracks are original compositions by Porter, spanning romantic heartbreak ("Holding On," "Insanity"), spiritual reflection (the stunning title track), and thoughtful political commentary ("Fan the Flames," "Consequence of Love," "French African Queen"). The 10th Anniversary Edition presents the album on 180-gram colored vinyl and includes as a bonus track a 2026 Rules remix of "Holding On" — a collaboration with the British producer and remixer that found new streaming success a decade after the original release. As Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus notes, the anniversary edition underscores the album's enduring appeal as "a refined yet accessible work of contemporary jazz" — a record that cemented Porter's standing as one of the most distinctive jazz vocal voices of his generation.
Take Me To The Alley (10th Anniversary)
Gregory Porter
Take Me to the Alley is the fourth studio album by Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist and songwriter Gregory Porter, originally released on May 6, 2016 via Blue Note Records, and now reissued as a 10th Anniversary Edition on May 8, 2026 as a limited, transparent orange double LP. The album was the eagerly anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough 2013 Platinum record Liquid Spirit, and it earned Porter the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Recorded with his longtime producer Kamau Kenyatta and his regular working band — including pianist Chip Crawford, bassist Aaron James, and drummer Emanuel Harrold — the album draws on deep soul, R&B, and classic jazz, frequently drawing comparisons to the emotional worlds of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Brook Benton. As JazzTimes observed, it maintains Porter's signature "exquisite balance of darkness and light" and a sense of intimacy "like conversations with a trusted friend."
Nearly all twelve tracks are original compositions by Porter, spanning romantic heartbreak ("Holding On," "Insanity"), spiritual reflection (the stunning title track), and thoughtful political commentary ("Fan the Flames," "Consequence of Love," "French African Queen"). The 10th Anniversary Edition presents the album on 180-gram colored vinyl and includes as a bonus track a 2026 Rules remix of "Holding On" — a collaboration with the British producer and remixer that found new streaming success a decade after the original release. As Dussmann Kulturkaufhaus notes, the anniversary edition underscores the album's enduring appeal as "a refined yet accessible work of contemporary jazz" — a record that cemented Porter's standing as one of the most distinctive jazz vocal voices of his generation.