Killer Opening Songs (Illusion by Gregory Porter)

Every now and then a singer comes along who, on first listen, knocks you off your feet. His voice sounds fresh and yet it also has a touch of the old classic about it, his compositions have a modern approach but with a strong nod to the past.

The artist Killer Opening Songs has in mind is LA-born, but currently Brooklyn-based, new jazz sensation Gregory Porter.

Porter’s blues-baritone voice has been ubiquitous in the last couple of years. Not just his voice, mind, but also his tremendous physical presence. A bear of a man, this gentle giant would have been a loss to the jazz world had a shoulder injury not put paid to his American football career. He had been offered a full scholarship to San Diego University based on his sporting prowess. This is one of those occasions when K.O.S. has to say to itself: “what if...?”

Luckily, there’s no “what if...?”. Porter’s debut album, Water, was released in 2010 and it immediately earned the newcomer a Grammy nomination. It is easy to imagine why. The Killer Opening Song, Illusion, slowly peels away the layers of Porter’s many talents from the outset. What renders the track poignant is the subject matter: heartbreak. Not just any heartbreak, this is heartbreak that burns inside, that leaves myriad unanswered questions behind: “I've been searching all the corners of my room/sweeping dust and memories beneath the carpet that we purchased/somewhere on some cool retreat, somewhere in Africa somewhere”

That is just the start of what can be considered already a soul classic. As autumn songs go, this K.O.S. works perfectly for this time of the year, Porter’s articulate lyrics against a background of fallen yellow, orange and auburn leaves. In fact the weather plays an important part in this Killer Opening Song, with the singer building up a beautiful and yet painful simile based on his emotional paralysis: I've been checking for the weather and the time/I'm like a bag above that's dropped and drifting in the wind/that blows from hurricanes that comes just after grey clouds fill my eyes.

Honeyed tones, however, is not the only distinctive feature of Water. This is a very well-balanced album moving from musical brawn (1960 What?) to the title track, an invitation to address life’s essential questions using one of nature’s essential elements. The record closes with one of the better covers K.O.S. has heard recently, an a capella version of Feeling Good, a composition made famous by the inimitable Nina Simone. Well, Gregory Porter’s take on it is just as good.

If you are looking for a satisfying, all-round jazz CD with a dash of blues and old soul thrown in for good measure, Water is the album. And it all starts with Illusion, a monster of a Killer Opening Song.

© 2013

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 24^th November at 10am (GMT)

Food, Music, Food, Music, Food Music... Ad Infinitum

Emboldened by my recent experience of cooking a roast pork loin for a large number of people on New Year's Eve, I'm gearing myself to repeat the experiment soon with friends and relatives. As you know I'm a big fan of the slow-cooking approach and nothing tastes better than meat coming off the bone at the first stab of my fork.

Although the words below are by Nigel Slater, the recipe isn't. It's by James Ramsden and judging by what I have read about him and his cooking methods, it looks as if this is one of many dishes to be shared with you, readers and fellow bloggers.

Moroccan slow-roasted shoulder of lamb

Serves 6

shoulder of lamb 1 x 1.5-2kg, on the bone
natural yogurt 350g
lemon juice of 1
ras el hanout 2 tbsp
smoked paprika ½ tsp
salt and pepper
red onions 2, peeled and sliced
garlic 1 whole bulb
red wine ½ a bottle
olive oil
couscous 300g
pomegranate 1, deseeded
coriander a big bunch, chopped


Chunks of meat are all well and good, but few things beat a whole joint, slowly roasted on the bone until the meat slides away at the slightest prod. Lamb shoulder is arguably the king of such joints. It's tough as old boots, but so perfectly fatty that when sympathetically cooked the fat melts through the meat, tenderising and oozing flavour throughout the flesh.


Using a sharp knife, slash the lamb a few times – no deeper than an inch – on the fatty side. Mix 250g of the yogurt, lemon juice, ras el hanout and smoked paprika in a bowl and season with pepper. Spread the onion out on a roasting tin, throw in unpeeled garlic cloves and place the lamb on top. Rub the lamb with the marinade, pour over the wine, cover and leave – 24 hours would be ideal, an hour will do.


When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 170C/gas mark 3. Season the lamb with salt and drizzle with oil. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 3 hours. Remove the foil and roast for a further half-hour. The shoulder blade should be peeking out from under the end of the meat.


Remove from the oven and leave to rest, loosely covered with foil, for half an hour. Meanwhile, cook the couscous according to the packet instructions. Pull the meat apart with tongs, garnish with the pomegranate seeds and coriander, and serve with a spoonful of the cooking juices, the couscous and the remaining yogurt.

Soul. That was the first word that came into my head when I read Nigel's words above. And the first track I've chosen to accompany this dish is by new soul boy, Gregory Porter. I heard him on Jazz FM recently and his voice slashed through me like a knife cutting through the fatty side of the lamb's shoulder. It's a mix of good ol' Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye, but with his own style and groove. Can't wait to get my hands on his album. Bon appetit!



If Gregory Porter is soul, then Sivert Høyem is passion, plus soul, too. Prisoners of the Road came on the radio a few days and by the time it'd finished I had another browser open on youtube trying to gather information about this artist. Listening to this guy's voice is like watching the lamb roasting slowly. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.



Anoushka Shankar's album Traveller led me last year down a path of traditional India music and flamenco hybrids, of which Indialucia is one of the more skillful exponents. This little hot number called Rumba oozes flavour through every pore like that roast lamb's shoulder. Tasty.



Recipe taken from Small Adventures in Cooking by James Ramsden.

Photograph taken by Jonathan Lovekin for The Observer

Next Post: "Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music", to be published on Sunday 19th February at 10am (GMT)