Award-winning jazz artist Gregory Porter heads for Oxfordshire

Gregory Porter is having a good year. For a man raised in, by his own admission, humble circumstances in Bakersfield, California – where his mother was a preacher – he has kept very grand company lately.

Having won a Grammy last year for his album Liquid Spirit, he has become one of the world’s top jazz singers, performing at the most illustrious jazz festivals – and culminating in a performance for The Queen at the VE Day 70th anniversary concert in Horse Guards Parade. His run of posh gigs continues with a pair of beauties here in Oxfordshire, starting with Blenheim Palace next Thursday, then Henley Festival on July 10, where he joins a night in celebration of the composer George Gershwin. And he’ll be in good company – in the presence of musical royalty in the shape of the newly-knighted Van Morrison at Blenheim and the Philharmonia Orchestra, pianist Ji Liu and singer Laura Mvula on the Henley Regatta site.

For an artist who, in just a few short years, has come from relative obscurity – on this side of the Atlantic at least – it’s quite an achievement, and shows how warmly this soulful baritone, with his trademark hat, has been taken to the hearts of British listeners.

“I am having an open arms reception in the UK,” he says cheerily in a laid-back Californian drawl, when I caught up with him in London.

“From playing small clubs and the Pizza Express in Dean Street, where I could feel the sweat dripping off my brow, my audiences have gotten bigger and bigger, and now I’m playing these big festivals. I appreciate that.

“I’m just doing what I do and it’s found its way to a higher audience.”

Gregory began to make waves when his debut album, Water, released four years ago, earned a Grammy nomination and through his role in the Broadway production of It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues.

A second album, Be Good, featuring many of his own songs was critically acclaimed – its title track also picking up another Grammy nomination. Liquid Spirit, released on the respected Blue Note label reached number nine in the UK album charts. It did similarly well on mainland Europe.

“This is my second home in a way,” he says warmly. “I should probably start staking out some real estate.

“I feel such excitement when I walk in the street here. People acknowledge me.

“The UK has always been open to soulful expression. Maybe I’ve endeared myself to people that like music – and this is a country that likes music. I even get to meet Royalty!”

Like all good jazzmen, Gregory knows that looking smart is almost as important as sounding good. “People think I have expensive white shirts, but they are all Marks & Spencer!” he laughs.

“People think I have three weeks to pick something out to wear, but I’ve been on the road for weeks – and everything in my trunk has to be dry-cleaned. I have to mix and match and put stuff together that is half-way cool. I like to be sharp, but it’s not something I spend hours on.”

And the hat? “That’s just my thing,” he says, enigmatically. “It’s ever present, it’s been there since before I was in the public eye. It’s my style, my thing, my statement. It’s saying: ‘this is me Gregory Porter’ and who else has it but me?

“I grew up in the 70s and everyone had their own style – from shoes to hairstyles, clothes, belts and even scent. Some even mixed their own cologne out of different fragrances.

“You are doing your own thing, and I think I do that with music as well. No one is following me around doing the same thing.

“I’m doing what guys did before: I’m bringing personal experience into my music, with gospel and soul. That tradition of male voices with soulful expression may have been missing from jazz for a few years.

“If I occupy any place, it’s as a male blues, soulful singer. It’s jazz informed by soul, gospel and blues music, and the place where jazz has been, but has not been for a while.”

Jazz man: Gregory Porter at work in the studio

So does this artist, who admits to experiencing racism in the past, think jazz has become too white? “No, I’m not saying that at all,” he answers. “The only reason I’d mention race is some things get trapped in the environment of black culture – things like the experiences of church, protest and mutual respect, which should make their way into jazz. Yet it is also elegant music at home in nightclubs. It is all those things.

“I love white people... I need them!” he laughs.

“Did black Americans need slavery and the Jim Crow laws in order to have the blues?” he goes on. “I’d say no. There was great musical expression before that, but there is something about the music of the underdog and the sound of that plaintive wail and desire for freedom which leads people to creativity – and that’s the same around the world. But it’s not a precondition for beautiful expression – it just adds seasoning.”

So is he looking forward to his Oxfordshire shows?

“They both look amazing,” he says. “Blenheim palace is unique. You don’t get anything like it anywhere else in the world. It’s extraordinary and I’m looking forward to performing in such a beautiful setting. It’s such an elevated and exalted space, the music will take hold.”

He adds: “I played with Van at Cheltenham Jazz Festival. His music is where you start; it’s the foundation of modern music and he’s in the same iconic category as people like Stevie Wonder.”

And what will he bring to the party? “I’ll be bringing my Gregory Porter music from my three records and maybe some music from new ideas for my next record, which hasn’t been recorded yet,” he says.

And Henley? “I’m sure there will be some good wine there,” he chuckles. “But wherever you can play, the intention is to be myself and let my soulful expression come through. It’s a form of communication.

“Things started out with a handful of jazz fans but more people seem to have accepted this jazz fool is born every day – and I have to hand it to them.

“Many people don’t understand the history of the music, so I have to make sure I do it right.”

What emerges, though, is undeniably cool. “You said it!” he laughs.

Gregory Porter plays Blenheim Palace next Thursday
nocturnelive.com 
He also plays Henley Festival on July 10.                        
henley-festival.co.uk