Rockport Music has hit another high note with this Thursday’s performance by two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist and composer Gregory Porter, who encompasses many genres.
But closest to his soul, both musically and personally, is the power of the human spirit.
“Once again, Porter cuts through the noise of genres and the mess of life to reach us all where we live: the heart,” according to his Blue Note bio.
He comes to Rockport on Thursday, June 11, then a few days later moves to the Hollywood Bowl for a performance, before beginning a European tour.
No matter the venue, the consummate singer-songwriter will bring his energy to the stage.
“I’ll sing the same way I sing at Royal Albert Hall,” Porter said. “I love new audiences and I hope I can bring positive energy.”
His journey in life so far includes a wide-range of interests and influences. Raised in Bakersfield, California, he was one of eight children raised by a mother who also was a minister. Her name was Ruth — and “Sister Ruth” on the streets.
Porter began singing in small jazz clubs in San Diego while attending San Diego State University on a football scholarship, according to his bio. An injury later would sideline his athletic pursuits. However, his musical path would take him to New York City.
In a recent interview, Porter credited his mother — as well as her collection of Nat King Cole records — for his inspiration as well as a musical influence.
“Sometimes my music is a manifestation of her kind of calling. She raised me to be super optimistic about love and people … and this idea of redemption, renewal, resurrection,” he said. “Sometimes her sermons would be about us, the children. Whatever you go through — for example your teen years or a troubled 8-year-old — there would be a sermon about whatever condition of life you were in.”
The optimism in some of his most popular songs are themes pulled from his mother’s life, and his life with her.
“As your mother and your preacher, there is always a bit of a mother kind of deity in her,” Porter said. “Her words were seasoned first with ‘little darling’ or ‘baby,’ and reminders that you should help the poor and think about the people on the street and those who are hungry.”
Porter found success with his first two albums, “Water” in 2010 and “Be Good” in 2012, both of which received Grammy nominations.
“In 2013, he released his breakout Blue Note debut ‘Liquid Spirit,’ which quickly grew into a global phenomenon, selling more than a million albums and earning Porter his first Grammy Award with NPR declaring him ‘America’s Next Great Jazz Singer,’” according to his bio.
A human sponge of the human condition, Porter said at this stage in his career, what matters most is whether his musical message is cutting through the noise of the 21st century.
“Do people feel something? Are they emotionally moved? Is something sparked that makes them feel better, makes them feel love or feel love toward somebody?,” he said. “This is coming out of the gospel tradition — of being a vessel of something greater, something higher.”
Never one to sit still, Porter is at work on a new project, and he is involved in the writing process and cultivating new songs.
“I tend to do most of my writing on the road, while I’m moving, meeting people, involving both the negative and positive,” he said.
On another front, in addition to his podcast, “The Hang with Gregory Porter,” he created a six-episode online cooking series, “The Porterhouse.”
Before his music career took off, he had a catering business, in which he advertised that in addition to cooking for dinner parties, he would perform.
“I love to cook … and I would do both,” he recalled. “I remember serving rack of lamb in my ‘chef whites’ standing at the end of the table, performing for this group of ladies who were so encouraging. And I’m always encouraged by my audiences to go further and it’s been that way since the beginning of my career since I was 6 years old — me as the soloist for the Sunshine band in the church and later as part of a family singing group.”
As he prepares for his first Rockport performance, the unique oceanfront setting presents opportunities for song choices.
“I’ve been on some extraordinary stages and the venues always inspire,” he said. “Sometimes I’m in a big concert hall, like Carnegie Hall, and you have to pull out something like an aria — and if you perform next to the water, maybe my song ‘Water’ will come into play. The environment does inspire the music.”
Gail McCarthy may be contacted at 978-675-2706, or gmccarthy@northofboston.com.