Gregory Porter

Gregory Porter is an American singer, songwriter and actor from Sacramento, California. He is born in 1971 and is also raised in Bakersfield, where his mother works as a minister. After graduating from Highland High School in 1989, he receives a full athletic scholarship to San Diego State University as a football lineman, but a shoulder injury during his junior year ends his football career.

Early life and career path

Porter loses his mother to cancer when he is 21, after she encourages him to sing from her death bed. In 2004 he moves to Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn with his brother Lloyd. There he works as a chef at Lloyd’s restaurant Bread-Stuy and also performs there, as well as at local venues including Sista’s Place and Solomon’s Porch. He later takes a weekly residency at St. Nick’s Pub in Harlem, and that residency develops into his touring band.

Recordings and labels

Porter releases his first two albums, Water and Be Good, on the Motéma label with Membran Entertainment Group. He then signs with Blue Note Records under Universal Music Group in 2013. His third album, Liquid Spirit, is produced by Brian Bacchus and becomes a major success, reaching the UK top 10 and earning gold certification from the BPI after selling more than 100,000 units in the UK. Porter also releases the single “The ‘In’ Crowd” in 2014.

Awards and performances

Liquid Spirit wins the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2014, and Take Me to the Alley wins the same award in 2017. Porter’s fourth album, Take Me to the Alley, is released in 2016. He performs at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in London, singing “As Time Goes By”, and appears at Glastonbury Festival on the Pyramid Stage in 2016. He also performs at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park, the BBC Children in Need show, The Graham Norton Show, and the Later... with Jools Holland: Later 25 concert at the Royal Albert Hall. In one appearance on The Graham Norton Show, he performs “Mona Lisa” with Jeff Goldblum on piano.

Style and repertoire

His music spans jazz, vocal jazz, blues, contemporary jazz, easy listening, gospel and neo soul.