Art Porter

Tribute to Art Porter Jr.: Reflections of a Grateful Art

by Liz Goodwin
June 11, 2017

During the early to mid '90s, soprano and alto saxophonist-composer Art Porter, Jr. was charting a blazing course on the contemporary jazz soundscape. The 35-year-old Little Rock, Arkansas native had recorded and released four albums for Verve Records. He had been a guest on the albums of such titans as keyboardists Ramsey Lewis; Jeff Lorber (who also produced and played on three of Porter's albums); and Tom Grant; guitarists Lee Ritenour and Evan Marks; and powerhouse vocalist El DeBarge, to ...

Art Porter: For Art

by Dave Hughes
July 1, 1998

For Art's Sake is sort of a grab-bag compilation of live performances, remixes and other miscellaneous selections featuring the late saxophonist Art Porter. Porter drowned in 1996, cutting short a promising career; indeed, these performances illustrate that Porter was a talented, accomplished player who was still in the process of developing his own voice, both in terms of sax playing and musical style. This mostly garden-variety contemporary jazz-flavored R&B.

The live cuts come off the best. The opener, “Lake Shore ...