The Porter Project (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Billy Paul Williams (vocals, guitar); Lauren Carter, Charlotte McKinnon (vocals); Simon Salz (guitar); Nicole Yarling (violin); Jason Carder (trumpet).

Recording information: Billy Goat Studios, Miami Beach, FL; Miami Beach Recording Studios, Miami Beach, FL.

Arranger: Billy Paul Williams.

In the jazz, traditional pop, and cabaret fields, Cole Porter tributes are a dime a dozen. There is no shortage of faceless Sarah Vaughan clones and Armani-clad Young Lions who, in the 21st century, insist that they're doing the world a favor by offering yet another knee-jerk version of "Night and Day" or "I've Got You Under My Skin" and failing to do anything different, unusual, or personal with it. And, of course, those are the same people who are truly horrified when you suggest that maybe -- just maybe -- they should try finding the jazz or cabaret potential in the songs of Prince, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, Sting, Radiohead, or Stevie Wonder. But while the Cole Porter songbook becomes, for the lazier artists, an example of taking the easy way out, it is a challenge for singer Billy Paul Williams. He is the main producer/arranger on The Porter Project, which manages to breath new life into many Porter warhorses that have been recorded time and time again over the years. Williams accomplishes this by bringing the songs into the electronica realm, and The Porter Project demonstrates that warhorses like "Night and Day," "I Love Paris," "Easy to Love," and "I've Got You Under My Skin" can, in fact, work nicely as chillout, downtempo, or acid jazz. Calling these songs warhorses isn't saying that they aren't great songs, only that they have been overdone -- and The Porter Project, by refusing to treat "Love for Sale" and "Miss Otis Regrets" like stale and rusty museum pieces, reminds you just how hip a composer Porter was in his day. Occasionally, The Porter Project stumbles and misses the mark -- a few of the arrangements are less than memorable -- but more often than not, this release demonstrates that Porter's songs can still offer intriguing possibilities if the artist is willing to show some imagination. ~ Alex Henderson minimize