Like a technique actor tapping into the matrix of reminiscences and experiences that form his emotional terrain, Gregory Porter returns time and again to his mom’s love for musical inspiration.
A soul-powered vocalist and songwriter who has earned two Grammy Awards, he’s the proud torchbearer of a lineage that runs from Nat “King” Cole and Ray Charles to Lou Rawls and Donny Hathaway. Whereas steeped within the jazz custom, he’s gained a following far past the jazz scene through seven albums and collaborations with the likes of DJ and producer Moby, pianist and actor Jeff Goldblum, and British singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding.
From the start, as a songwriter keen to debate his craft, Porter has spoken usually about how his mom’s unshakable perception in his present sustained him throughout his early years.
“I don’t want to wear out the idea of the strength of my mother, but I don’t care if I do,” stated Porter, 53, on a current video name from his house in Bakersfield, the town the place his single mom, an ordained minister, raised him and 7 siblings.
He performs Dec. 8 at Oakland’s Paramount Theater in a live performance offered by SFJAZZ, and whereas he’ll embrace songs from his 2023 album “Christmas Wish” his repertoire ranges all through his discography. In search of to inform a bigger story about perseverance, religious therapeutic and the abiding energy of affection, Porter attracts on the tales he heard “sitting in the front pew where my mother was preaching,” he stated.
“There’s a message that has been consistent in my music, and I weave the Christmas songs in so thematically you can see the connection. There’s a current and energy and consistency to the songs, and I don’t want there to be a separation. I want to have a soulful jazz Christmas along with my soulful jazz.”
The facility of Porter’s message flows from his heat, brawny baritone and sanctified supply, however it’s amplified by his imposing presence. Earlier than he determined to concentrate on singing he performed lineman for San Diego State’s Aztecs. The mix of tenacity and tenderness, sensitivity and energy imbues his music with a generosity that evokes childhood marvel and grownup complexity.
His muse emerges in conjuring scenes and emotions from his youth “when life was so extraordinary and dynamic and interesting,” he stated. “My mother believed in me more than I believed in myself, and I’m constantly going back to those stories, finding them to be the most profound experiences of my life. The writing that comes from those are my strongest songs.”
And there are others artists who’ve discovered a profound connection to his materials. On her extraordinary 2022 album “Ghost Song” Cécile McLorin Salvant linked Porter’s “No Love Dying” with “Optimistic Voices,” a then little-known music from “The Wizard of Oz” with lyrics by Yip Harburg and music by Harold Arlen and Herbert Stothart.
Porter’s pursuits vary broadly. Through the pandemic he created a cooking present, “The PorterHouse with Gregory Porter,” which was offered by Citi and ran for six episodes. He noticed the challenge as a chance to inform “part of my origin story at my mother’s kitchen table,” he stated.
“I helped prepare meals for the big family with eight kids, five boys and three girls. I’d get special time with mom, because she was going to be there. And before I was doing music I had a catering business and worked in a couple of kitchens in New York and California.”
He additionally launched a podcast, “The Hang with Gregory Porter,” that options his conversations with different musicians. For the primary episode he sat down with one in every of his heroes, Earth, Wind and Hearth’s Philip Bailey.
“It was a way to talk to somebody in our lonely Covid times, when we didn’t know if music was going to come back,” he stated. “I just wanted to talk to artists, get their origin stories, and find out if they were similar to mine.”
Porter’s origins as a bandleader manifest each time he performs, as his quintet options pianist Chip Crawford and drummer Emanuel Harrold, gamers who’ve labored with him for the reason that launch of his 2010 debut album “Water” on Motéma Music. After experiences with musicians who confirmed little curiosity within the tales behind his songs, he discovered a crew that inspired and embraced his message.
“I realized, don’t try to be anybody else,” he stated. “I realized, where I come from, what my roots are, that’s how I connect to other people.”
Basking in his mom’s love, Porter is a jazz singer for all seasons.
Contact Andrew Gilbert at jazzscribe@aol.com.
GREGORY PORTER
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 8
The place: Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland; offered by SFJAZZ
Tickets: $65-$160; www.sfjazz.org
