‘An Evening with Gregory Porter’ @ Winspear Opera House (ATTPAC and iAE)
Photos courtesy of ATTPAC, Grammy Awards
Ramona Harper
“Christmas Wish,” the latest album from contemporary jazz singer/songwriter Gregory Porter, framed a hopeful narrative for a spirit-filled evening at the Winspear Opera House on December 16. “An Evening with Gregory Porter” (presented by ATTPAC and iAE) was filled with Christmas traditionals, jazzy Gospel tunes and soulful R&B vibes influenced by Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington, Donny Hathaway, and Bill Withers.
With roots in the Black church and the Gospel tradition (his mother was a minister) Gregory Porter’s deep, rich baritone is a once-in-a-lifetime, emotionally stirring vocal experience. Dallasites love Gregory Porter, and he packed the Winspear with an appreciative audience for this stop on his Holiday 2024 tour.
Perhaps the greatest influencer of Porter’s life was his mother, and he opens his concert reminiscing about the times his mother would cook a fabulous, mouth-watering Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. After praying over the food, he and his seven siblings would have to give the dinner away to the homeless living on the streets of Bakersfield, California, where he grew up. The family would eat the leftovers.
Performing the title track from “Christmas Wish,” “A Heart for Christmas,” and “Everything’s Not Lost,” Porter makes the spirit bright with up-tempo melodic poetry and strong solos performed by his long-time band—led by pianist Chip Crawford with a quintet of some of the best musicians to be found anywhere on the planet—on bass, drums, sax, piano and organ, and with a trio of backup vocalists.
It's unusual to hear a churchy-sounding organ as an essential element of jazz instrumentation on romantic songs such as “Hey, Laura,” one of a dozen on this production’s playlist. But Gregory Porter never loses touch with his Gospel roots. Although he's mainly billed as a jazz singer, Porter is so much more with the organ connecting the staves and lines, spiritualizing the secular, and exalting the sacred.
Each musician had the full stage to perform smashing solos that showcased not only their own amazing skill and artistry but also their perfected talent for accompaniment.
Blended genres of jazz, blues, soul, and gospel flow completely naturally from Porter’s cool-as-a cuke persona, and from his organic stylistic phrasing and orchestration. His authenticity is, perhaps, the essence of what makes Porter such an appealing artist—in addition to having a voice made in heaven.
Sophisticated and elegant in a down-to-earth way (and still sporting his trademark Kangol Summer Spitfire cap), Gregory Porter projects an earthiness that, despite his formidable international success as a Grammy-winning artist, is still very much in touch with his humble beginnings, and what he calls “Nashville West” and the Bakersfield Southern Gospel Sound. He has a way with song, taking everyday life and transporting an audience to a place of empathy and calm in the face of life’s vicissitudes; a reassuring and grounded place he calls “the soil space.”
The program included songs that Porter wrote for albums going back to his first Grammy in 2010 for “Water,” the second one for “Take Me to the Alley, “ and several from “Liquid Spirit” including “Holding On,” “The Christmas Song” (the vintage “chestnuts roasting by an open fire” number made famous by Nat King Cole), “Musical Genocide,” and a powerhouse, be-bopping bass solo medley including “My Girl,” “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and “Grandma’s Hands.”
To a standing ovation, Gregory Porter encored with his “No Love Dying,” inspired by the wisdom of his beloved mother, a song of hopeful optimism for combatting today’s negativity and hate:
The bird that flew through my window simply lost his way
He broke his wing, I helped him heal and he flew away
Well, the death of love is everywhere, but I won’t let it be
There will be no love that’ s dying here for me.
WHEN: December 16, 2024
WHERE: Winspear Opera House, Dallas
WEB: attpac.org
