The evening of December 15th was magical for so many jazz lovers as the renowned jazz musician Gregory Porter performed in the sold out Alexela concert house. Porter and his magnificent band held the listeners’ full attention and made the whole audience sing along with him: „I can remember“. We will surely remember as the talented musician found some time to have a lovely conversation with Jazzkaar’s volunteer Kertu Kärk.
Thank you again for this lovely and emotional experience, I felt like I was floating in the music! It Is not your first or even second time in Tallinn. How does it feel to be back?
It feels great. I didn’t realize that it had been so many years, those COVID years had kind of compressed time in a strange way. I’m really glad to be back. I remember my performances and my time here. I wish I had a bit more time to stay and explore the city, museums, and whatnot. But I’ll be back.
What was your favorite part of tonight’s concert?
For me, it’s been an unconscious thing to bring different age groups together. And tonight, there were all the young people in front of us, I mean really young, even kids, and at the same time there were older, mature people. I love that. I love the fact that I have the style, the message and the voice that is not male or female, not black or white, not young or old. It’s just a thing that people can latch on to.
I’m not a massive rock star like Justin Bieber or Britney Spears, but I have something. And I like the fact that with my message I don’t have to sacrifice any group of people really. I could probably get the pop person; I could probably maintain the jazz person. I like the fact that I’m quite well rounded in that way. And the audience shows that, I think.
What is behind the songs that you have selected for the concert, what kind of emotions do you wish to convey?
I sing always about the optimism that I have about love. Looking outside of yourself… Even most of the Christmas songs that I sang are about looking outside of yourself: to be more giving, more thoughtful to other people, to children, to people suffering. I’m thinking about that a lot.
I’m just thinking about the irrepressible love. Even a song “Hey Laura” is about love that doesn’t die. This is a guy who’s like… Laura dumped him. Laura is gone. But he’s like: “I don’t care. Just lie to me. Just give me a little bit. Just give me the crumbs off your table.” So it is about optimism, about love.
You said it yourself that your music doesn’t have an age and it has kind of a timeless quality. But has your style evolved somehow during the years?
I think that the essence of that I want to say has clarified. I like to think that I’m consistent in my messaging, which is why I still sing songs from the first record, because I think there’s a consistency throughout a messaging. But you know, it is actually difficult for the flower to know when he’s opened up and blossomed because it happens so slowly. I think I’m more comfortable with what it is I’m trying to say and what I’m trying to do.
Have you noticed the influence of other artists in your music?
Absolutely. I’ve learned to just embrace the genius of blues and when I say blues, I mean gospel blues as well. Nat King Cole is always there in my spirit. I think about great communicators of love: Bill Withers, Luther Vandross, Donny Hathaway. I think of those great singers that communicated about love and life. I feel like I’m trying to be in that archetype – communicators of life and love stories.
So, you identify yourself as a jazz musician?
Yes, absolutely. Even if I am sometimes singing the cousins of jazz – soul, blues, gospel – I’m doing it from a foundation of jazz: singing behind the beat, singing above the beat, delineating from the melody every time around.
Funny thing is that I came to prominence in my career when I was 40, so I had been singing jazz standard for 20 years. Now you caught me in the other era of my career, which is much doing my original music. I love the standards; I love singing just straight-ahead jazz as well.
What do you think, what is the role of jazz in the current music scene?
I think it is the soul of the people. The subject matter that can be dealt with and be talked about in jazz is so wide and so broad. Probably more so than in any other music. I think there’s no shame or fear in jazz. When you think about the music of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Duke Ellington…
There’s Duke Ellington’s praises to God, there’s Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddam”, there’s Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”. There are deep, deep things that the artists can speak about: anything under the sun, the war. Leon Thomas has a song called “Damn Nam” about Vietnam. The subject matter of the jazz lyrics is so strong even when you go back to the Great American Songbook, even in the 40s.
There is a song called “Georgia Rose”, which Tony Bennett used to sing, which is about the beauty of black skin (singing):
Georgia Rose, Georgia Rose
You’re the most precious rose, Dixie Rose
Though we don’t see quite right, cause your skin’s dark as night
I know you’ve a heart lily white
There’re really profound things being said in the jazz lyric that may not be touched by other genres.
Your voice it’s really special, and it has been described as creamy bariton. But how do you maintain it? How do you take care of it?
Well, funny thing is that I tried to get rest but this tour has been crazy: losing our bags, trying to find the bags, running to the concert. So, it has been tough, but somehow, I recover well. And I also try not to abuse myself. I try not to stay in the cold too long. I’m trying to hydrate.
But you know, I drink milk and eat cheese right before I go on stage. I love whiskey so I’ll have a whiskey but not eight of them. I’ll have one.
My voice is my instrument. Tivon looks after his horn so passionately. Nobody can touch it. Nobody can kick it. So, maybe I’m the same way with my voice. Yeah. (laughs) That’s not true. Sometimes I like cooking and smoke flying in my face. I’ve been lucky that I recover. I like screaming, screaming at the top of my lungs. I like kissing strangers. I don’t take care of my voice. (laughing)
Can it be a genetical thing, do your children also have great voices?
I like to think they do. My youngest has a really beautiful sound when he sings. And I hope that he goes into music. Both my children sing well but I’m not going to push them because it really is a difficult life. You have to really know that it is what you want to do.
People consider that I have high talent. But I was better when I was 18 and I’m not saying that nobody was listening, but it was difficult to find my way to the concert hall. So, it’s tough. But if they do it, I will be overjoyed.
I hope that they will find their own ideal job because if you’re doing what is making you happy, you don’t have to work a single day in your life.
You see this saying in Instagram posts and on posters. And it’s absolutely the truth. That feels super lucky that I found my calling.
My mother said it, but I didn’t believe it. She said: “Gregory, don’t forget your music is the best thing you do. I know that you love it. Stick to that.” She said that before she died and I didn’t have the confidence at the time. But it absolutely makes me happy and has sustained me mentally, not even financially, but mentally and emotionally.
What kind of message or feeling do you hope that your fans went home with tonight?
Maybe a buzz of warmth; the optimism that things will be better. But in a sensible way. Because if you listen to the lyric, I’m never singing just like “don’t worry about the trouble”. I’m saying the trouble is there but in the face of trouble there is love; in the face of trouble there is optimism; in the face of trouble, you can fight back against the trouble.
So, I’m fully aware in each of these optimistic songs that the trouble is there. In the Christmas song that I wrote, “Everything’s Not Lost”, the lyric is “Help me to just pass this test of time, I wish that I was blind”. There must be something really painful going on to wish for that – I don’t want to see all this trouble and misery, but everything’s not lost. So, in the face of optimism, recognizing trouble is wisdom. Recognizing your opponent is wisdom.
GREGORY PORTER (USA)
15th December 2023, 7pm at Alexela Kontserdimaja
The band:
Gregory Porter – vocal
Chip Crawford – piano
Tivon Pennicott – saxophones
Jahmal Nichols – double bass
Ondrej Pivec – Hammond organ
Emanuel Harrold – drums