Hearing Gregory Porter sing, it’s hard to imagine there was ever a time when he considered doing anything else.
He’s known for his rich, unmistakable baritone, a voice that draws equally from jazz, gospel, blues and soul. Today he’s a celebrated, Grammy winning artist who plays for audiences of thousands. He plays four nights in a row at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He is simply a fact of life for those who light up at the sound of a soulful singer.
But a life lived under the spotlight was hardly a foregone conclusion and in fact he was nearly 40 before he made his first record.
Porter grew up in Bakersfield California, one of eight siblings. His mother was a storefront preacher who traveled from church to church and often brought young Gregory along to sing.
But his mother wasn’t only concerned with saving souls. She also worked to help people struggling to survive. Her ministry took her to Lakeview Avenue, a rough stretch of Bakersfield that locals called simply The Road. Among the people she helped were migrant agricultural workers, many of them Black Americans whose families had traveled west looking for work.
Those childhood experiences would eventually become the inspiration for one of Porter’s most enduring songs, “Take Me to the Alley.” It appeared on Porter’s 2016 album of the same name, which won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
But although she clearly heard something special in his voice, becoming a singer wasn’t a foregone conclusion for him. In fact, during one of the last conversations they ever had before she died, his mother reminded him not to forget about making music.
He refers to that as the fuel that burned hotter and lasted longer than any other words from anybody else in the world. Today, he’s one of the most recognizable voices in contemporary jazz.
Here he speaks about his childhood in Bakersfield, the influence of his mother, and the people and places that inspired his music. And along the way he talks about how food and cooking, ministry and charity, and a lifetime spent falling into and staying in love, have guided his path.
