Like a method actor tapping into the matrix of memories and experiences that shape his emotional terrain, Gregory Porter returns again and again to his mother’s love for musical inspiration.
A soul-powered vocalist and songwriter who has earned two Grammy Awards, he’s the proud torchbearer of a lineage that runs from Nat “King” Cole and Ray Charles to Lou Rawls and Donny Hathaway. While steeped in the jazz tradition, he’s won a following far beyond the jazz scene via seven albums and collaborations with the likes of DJ and producer Moby, pianist and actor Jeff Goldblum, and British singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding.
From the beginning, as a songwriter eager to discuss his craft, Porter has spoken often about how his mother’s unshakable belief in his gift sustained him during his early years.
“I don’t want to wear out the idea of the strength of my mother, but I don’t care if I do,” said Porter, 53, on a recent video call from his home in Bakersfield, the city where his single mother, an ordained minister, raised him and seven siblings.
He performs Dec. 8 at Oakland’s Paramount Theater in a concert presented by SFJAZZ, and while he’ll include songs from his 2023 album “Christmas Wish” his repertoire ranges throughout his discography. Seeking to tell a larger story about perseverance, spiritual healing and the abiding power of love, Porter draws on the stories he heard “sitting in the front pew where my mother was preaching,” he said.
“There’s a message that has been consistent in my music, and I weave the Christmas songs in so thematically you can see the connection. There’s a current and energy and consistency to the songs, and I don’t want there to be a separation. I want to have a soulful jazz Christmas along with my soulful jazz.”
The power of Porter’s message flows from his warm, brawny baritone and sanctified delivery, but it’s amplified by his imposing presence. Before he decided to focus on singing he played lineman for San Diego State’s Aztecs. The combination of tenacity and tenderness, sensitivity and strength imbues his music with a generosity that evokes childhood wonder and adult complexity.
His muse emerges in conjuring scenes and feelings from his youth “when life was so extraordinary and dynamic and interesting,” he said. “My mother believed in me more than I believed in myself, and I’m constantly going back to those stories, finding them to be the most profound experiences of my life. The writing that comes from those are my strongest songs.”
And there are others artists who have found a profound connection to his material. On her extraordinary 2022 album “Ghost Song” Cécile McLorin Salvant linked Porter’s “No Love Dying” with “Optimistic Voices,” a then little-known song from “The Wizard of Oz” with lyrics by Yip Harburg and music by Harold Arlen and Herbert Stothart.
Porter’s interests range widely. During the pandemic he created a cooking show, “The PorterHouse with Gregory Porter,” which was presented by Citi and ran for six episodes. He saw the project as an opportunity to tell “part of my origin story at my mother’s kitchen table,” he said.
“I helped prepare meals for the big family with eight kids, five boys and three girls. I’d get special time with mom, because she was going to be there. And before I was doing music I had a catering business and worked in a couple of kitchens in New York and California.”
He also launched a podcast, “The Hang with Gregory Porter,” that features his conversations with other musicians. For the first episode he sat down with one of his heroes, Earth, Wind and Fire’s Philip Bailey.
“It was a way to talk to somebody in our lonely Covid times, when we didn’t know if music was going to come back,” he said. “I just wanted to talk to artists, get their origin stories, and find out if they were similar to mine.”
Porter’s origins as a bandleader manifest every time he performs, as his quintet features pianist Chip Crawford and drummer Emanuel Harrold, players who’ve worked with him since the release of his 2010 debut album “Water” on Motéma Music. After experiences with musicians who showed little interest in the stories behind his songs, he found a team that encouraged and embraced his message.
“I realized, don’t try to be anybody else,” he said. “I realized, where I come from, what my roots are, that’s how I connect to other people.”
Basking in his mother’s love, Porter is a jazz singer for all seasons.
Contact Andrew Gilbert at jazzscribe@aol.com.
GREGORY PORTER
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 8
Where: Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland; presented by SFJAZZ
Tickets: $65-$160; www.sfjazz.org