Gregory Porter is a Black American singer and songwriter raised in Bakersfield, California, one of eight children in a family led by a minister mother. Singing in church and studying her Nat King Cole records helped form his musical ear. A football scholarship took him to San Diego State University, but an injury ended his athletic path.
Music offered another direction. Producer Kamau Kenyatta became a mentor, brought him into a recording session with flutist Hubert Laws and has worked with him ever since. Porter later moved to New York, combining work in his brother's café with performances in jazz clubs. His albums Water (2010) and Be Good (2012) both received Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album, a level of recognition that was rare for a debut recording.
Liquid Spirit, released on Blue Note in September 2013, moved him onto a larger stage. The album won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 2014 ceremony, the label's account describing a blend of modern jazz and acoustic soul that carried his baritone to audiences well beyond the jazz club circuit.
For All Rise in 2020, producer Troy Miller, Porter's band, a choir and orchestral strings helped give his songwriting a larger setting. In the label's account, Porter described songs shaped by love, belonging and experiences of racism. One of the album's songs, "Mister Holland," draws on an experience from his teenage years, when a door was closed to him because of his skin, and he said he thinks about things like that for his son. He spoke of writing first with voice and piano, then developing the arrangements with other musicians.
