ryan porter: force for good
Francisco Espregueira
LA-based trombonist and composer Ryan Porter presents his third album, Force For Good, launching an 84-minute jazz-fusion opus with Alpha Pup Records imprint World Galaxy. His new project, following Spangle-Lang Lane (2017) and The Optimist (2018), was methodically captured across different locations in LA, with all the talent involved enjoying freedom to explore around the plotted transitions and changes written by Porter. Telepathic like communication from their extensive years working together, their togetherness sparked the energy for another worthy contribution to the canon of 21st century jazz.
Force For Good marks an important turning point in Ryan Porter's career, mostly captured during the same year that he contributed to Kendrick Lamar's critically acclaimed LP To Pimp A Butterfly and the core members of the West Coast Get Down crew were ramping up for the release of Kamasi Washington’s The Epic. Every piece on the album is compelling, collectively glued to the spirit of John Coltrane's design for music's purpose during the last chapter of his life and the legacy of LA music, as it continues to experience a creative apex in the 21st century.
Available on digital platforms, the physical pressings will follow later this year. Force For Good serves as a time capsule of Ryan Porter's ascension into the ranks of the most elite players in the modern landscape of jazz and beyond.
Written and recorded between 2014-19, Force For Good features primary core members of the West Coast Get Down crew, including Kamasi Washington (sax), Brandon Coleman (piano, Fender Rhodes), Cameron Graves (piano, Fender Rhodes), Miles Mosley (acoustic bass), Thundercat (electric bass), and Tony Austin (drums). Other contributing members and features include Nia Andrews (vocals), Josef Leimberg (trumpet, percussion), Robert Miller (drums), Aaron Haggerty (drums), Lyndon Rochelle (drums), and Jumaane Smith (trumpet).