Gregory Porter

	Chart positions ; Explanation of the data
	Albums
	Liquid spirit
	Issues of Life - Features and Remixes
	Take me to the alley
	Live in Berlin
	Nat "King" Cole & Me
	Singles
	Holding On (with disclosure )

Gregory Porter, Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2018
Picture: Tore Sætre

Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971 in Sacramento , California ) is an American singer and composer of jazz with influences from soul , gospel and rhythm & blues .

Live and act

Porter grew up in Bakersfield . As a child, he sang gospel with his mother in church . His early influences also include soul and rhythm & blues . He named Nat King Cole , Leon Thomas and Nina Simone as role models . He had a football scholarship to San Diego State University but had to retire due to a shoulder injury. He was a singer on the 1999 Broadway show It Ain't Nothin 'But the Blues . The baritone performed in the San Diego area and drew attention to himself at a Nat King Cole tribute by Hubert Laws . He lives in Bakersfield.

Porter had his breakthrough in 2010 with his debut album Water (Motéma Music), which was nominated for a Grammy (Best Jazz Vocal). In 2012 the album Be Good followed (also nominated for a Grammy in the Crossover Rhythm & Blues category), with the single releases Be Good (Lion's Song) , On My Way to Harlem and Real Good Hands . In 2013 he got a contract with Blue Note Records , where his third album Liquid Spirit was released. Like Be Good , this album was produced by Brian Bacchus, who u. a. worked with Steve Turre and Randy Weston , participated in Terry Callier's comeback, and as A&R manager on Norah Jones ' debut album Come Away with Me .

In his songs he also addresses the racial problem in the USA (his own brother was shot in 1980 when, according to Porter, he was in a predominantly “white” part of the city, and his family was also the victim of racist riots during this time).

After his record success he appeared at many major jazz festivals, such as the Elbjazz Festival in 2011 (also in 2014) and the Blue Note Jazz Festival , and in 2012 at the Chicago Jazz Festival , the Charlie Parker Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival . He's also popular in England since Georgia Mancio brought him to their Revoice Festival in 2011 and 2012 and he performed with Jamie Cullum .

His third album Liquid Spirit was released in 2013 , with which he made his international breakthrough. It was placed in the charts worldwide and even made it into the top ten, especially in Germany and the Netherlands. In September 2013 he performed at the Kunstflecken culture festival .

At the end of 2013 he appeared on Max Herre's MTV Unplugged Kahedi Radio Show and sang the titles Vida and So wonderful with him . In May 2014, an encounter between him and Cassandra Wilson was broadcast in Harlem on arte . In 2016 he performed at Inas Nacht . In December 2016, he sang a duet with Helene Fischer in her Christmas show.

Porter's trademark is a dark balloon cap over a tube scarf that covers the entire head with the exception of the face.

Musical style

His backing band offers jazzy mainstream, in which his "creamy sounding" baritone embeds legato singing closely tied to the lyrics . The music critic of the Wiener Standard praises his intensity, "tart, gentle sound, elastic phrasing and confident timing ".

Prizes and awards

In 2013 Porter was awarded the Down Beat Poll in the Rising Star category as Jazz Musician of the Year and Best Singer. In 2014 he was named Jazz Musician of the Year in the Down Beat Critic Polls and best singer in the Critics Poll for both established artists and in the Rising Star category. In 2014 he received the Grammy for the best jazz vocal album of the year for his album Liquid Spirit . In 2014 he also received an ECHO Jazz in the category of best international singer , and in 2015 and 2017 in the category of bestseller of the year .

Discography

Own albums

Gregory Porter (2013)

Water (2010)
Be Good (2012) - Single releases: Be Good (Lion's Song), On My Way to Harlem and Real Good Hands
Liquid Spirit (September 2, 2013)
Issues of Life - Features and Remixes (2014)
Take Me to the Alley (2016)
Live in Berlin (2016)
Nat "King" Cole & Me (2017)
All Rise (Blue Note, 2020)

Participation

The Rongetz Foundation : Brooklyn Butterfly Session (Brooklyn Butterfly Sound, 2012) - Gogo Soul, Hard Bop Merry Go Round
David Murray Infinity Quartet : Be My Monster Love (Motéma, 2013) - Army of the Faithful, About the Children, Hope Is a Thing with Feathers
Max Herre : MTV Unplugged Kahedi Radio Show (Nesola 2013) - Vida, So wonderful
Till Brönner : The Movie-Album (UMI Jazz Germany 2014) - Stand By Me
Great Voices of Harlem (2014) together with Mansur Scott , Donald Smith and Paul Zauner 's Blue Brass

Awards for music sales

Silver record

United Kingdom United Kingdom
- 2019: for the single Liquid Spirit

Golden record

Belgium Belgium
- 2015: for the single Liquid Spirit (Claptone Remix)

Platinum record

Netherlands Netherlands
- 2016: for the album Liquid Spirit

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	silver	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Belgium (BEA)	0! S.-	gold1	0! P-	90,000	ultratop.be
Germany (BVMI)	0! S.-	gold1	platinum1	300,000	musikindustrie.de
Netherlands (NVPI)	0! S.-	0! G-	platinum1	40,000	nvpi.nl
Austria (IFPI)	0! S.-	0! G-	platinum1	15,000	ifpi.at
United Kingdom (BPI)	2 × silver2	2 × gold2	platinum1	900,000	bpi.co.uk
All in all	2 × silver2	4 × gold4th	4 × platinum4th