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by Bryan Beller of Bass Player

Equal parts folk storyteller, traditional songwriter, roots-rocker, and killer acoustic picker, Milwaukee’s Willy Porter deftly covers a slew of musical and emotional landscapes on his fourth-album, Available Light. But the hidden treat is Porter’s bassist Steve Kleiber, one of Milwaukee’s best-kept secrets and a mature, austere groove player in the best tradition of Michael Rhodes and other less-is-more Nashville session cats. He demonstrates exactly how to play roots-rock with a 5-string and still have it register authentically, dropping the low bombs sparingly and keeping it sparse and airy. His P-Bass sound is perfectly matched with a detuned snare on “Still Doing Time,” and “One More September” is a master’s exercise in deep, dark tone and rhythmic footballs. The player’s reward comes last; the instrumental groove “Where Are My Keys?” features a short fretless solo break, and Kleiber melodically steps out in a manner appropriate for an album where stepping out ain’t what it’s all about.
-Bryan Beller

From the June 2007 issue of Bass Player magazine

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