TRACK PREMIERE: RYAN PORTER “CARRIACOU” (F. THUNDERCAT)

If you are an L.A.-area musician who would like to submit unreleased songs or videos of any genre for premiere, email a stream or download link to fortherecord@larecord.com.

L.A. jazz trombonist Ryan Porter’s last album was an explosion of joyful energy—that’s partly why it was called The Optimist. And now he’s got a new release on deck, reaching even deeper into that well of positivity. His coming Force For Good is named after a particularly resonant/relevant quote from John Coltrane, explains Porter: “He thought to himself there is so much evil in the world and so many people are making the choice to become a force for evil. John felt making a choice to be a force for good would not only help his life but make his music the film score for the people who choose to force for good no matter what the conditions are.”

And Porter’s Force For Good is alive with that sense of purpose, manifested here in this ten-minute workout (powered in part by Thundercat’s electric bass) that Porter wrote to honor the sound and sensibility of a place he loves: “[Carriacou] was inspired by my fascination with Calypso music and West Indian Caribbean culture. I have had an amazing time taking in the food, music, and family oriented warm of the Caribbean and the song titled ‘Carriacou’ from my new album Force for Good is a sonic post card inspired by the warmth and beauty of the Caribbean Islands.”

For the recording of Force, Porter broke out of the tiny LAX-adjacent sweatbox studio where The Optimist was made, but he redeploys key players from the West Coast Get Down, including Kamasi Washington (sax, featured here), Brandon Coleman (piano, Fender Rhodes, featured here), Cameron Graves (piano, Fender Rhodes), Miles Mosley (acoustic bass), Thundercat (electric bass, featured here), and Tony Austin (drums)—as well as feature players Nia Andrews (vocals), Josef Leimberg (trumpet, percussion, featured here), Robert Miller a.k.a. Techdizzle (drums, featured here), Aaron Haggerty (drums), Lyndon Rochelle (drums), and Jumaane Smith (trumpet). It’s a snapshot of West Coast jazz in full bloom, and the result is even more expansive and exuberant than you’d expect. Porter’s Force For Good is out Fri., June 14, on World Galaxy / Alpha Pup and you can pre-order it here!