Roy Porter Sound Machine Jessica Import LP

In the late 1960s, Roy Porter began working with a trio which he called Roy Porter Sounds and he later changed it to Roy Porter Sound Machine when he began to add more horns and other instruments. They released two albums Jessica (1971) and Inner Feelings (1975). P-VINE will release them as vinyl reissues with OBI strip for the first time!

Two decades after drug addiction effectively derailed bop drummer Roy Porter's once-promising career, legendary L.A. producer Bumps Blackwell suggested he announce his return to active duty with a private-press session spotlighting his current musical direction. Had the resulting Jessica received anything resembling a wide release, it may well have been hailed as a classic. A deeply idiosyncratic yet potently soulful jazz-funk mindfuck that draws liberally and equally from Motown, boogaloo and the avant-garde, it effectively translates the experimental big-band sensibilities of Porter's famed 1949 orchestra into the post-Coltrane lexicon, even resurrecting alumni including saxophonist Jack Fulks, pianist Tollie Moore and trumpeter Hense Powell to further underscore the connection between past and present. The essence of Porter's approach lies in his juxtaposition of driving, dynamic rhythms and sleepytime horn arrangements, creating a strange yet intoxicating sound that forges monster grooves despite its adherence to odd phrasings and left-field tempo changes.