A two-time GRAMMY-winner and six-time nominee, Gregory Porter has undoubtedly become jazz’s most celebrated male vocalist, “a jazz singer of thrilling presence, a booming baritone with a gift for earthy refinement and soaring uplift” (The New York Times). He returns to Miner after last summer’s orchestral performance of Nat “King” Cole’s music at Davies Symphony Hall with material from across his outstanding career.

After the success of his 2010 debut Water and follow-up Be Good, Porter broke through to mainstream stardom with his Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit, winning the 2013 GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album. He repeated the GRAMMY and chart success of Liquid Spirit with 2016’s Take Me to the Alley, and his 2017 tribute to Nat “King” Cole, Nat “King” Cole & Me, earned Porter his third GRAMMY nod.

Raised in the hardscrabble city of Bakersfield, the budding vocalist 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.

Setlist
all compositions by Gregory Porter, unless otherwise noted

Holding On Gregory Porter & Disclosure
On My Way To Harlem
Hey Laura
Liquid Spirit
Papa Was a Rolling Stone Barrett Strong & Norman Whitfield
Musical Genocide
You Can Join My Band

Personnel
Gregory Porter vocals
Tivon Pennicott saxophone
Ondrej Pivec Hammond organ
Chip Crawford piano
Jahmal Nichols bass
Emanuel Harrold drums