Gregory Porter // SFJAZZ Center

"His sturdy baritone and sure projection make him a natural belter,
but he knows how to sidle up to a melody, working quietly with tension and release. " — The New York Times

A two-time GRAMMY-winner for his smash 2013 release Liquid Spirit and 2016 follow-up Take Me to the Alley, Gregory Porter has undoubtedly become one of jazz’s most important male vocalists – a soul-drenched singer at his best delivering his emotionally charged original songs. Following his first two albums, the GRAMMY-nominated 2010 debut Water and follow-up Be Good, Porter broke through to mainstream stardom with Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit. Now with Take Me to the Alley, Porter makes a defining statement as an established veteran, offering up his finest collection of songs in an album marked by supple phrasing, sophisticated lyrics and his signature tough but tender delivery. Raised in the hardscrabble city of Bakersfield, Porter grew up with seven siblings who all sang and worked in their mother’s skid row mission. A chance encounter led to Porter’s recording debut on Hubert Laws Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole, a 1998 album that earned him an audition for the Broadway-bound musical It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. Growing up around rollicking tent revivals offered ideal training for a revue tracing the history of the blues, and he got the gig. Porter brings the same soul-stirring authority to jazz settings, revealing powerful truths with heart and grace.

MEMBERS ONLY, FRI

DEC 8- 7:30 PM
DEC 9- 7:30 PM
DEC 10- 3:00 & 7:00PM