Gregory Porter set for South Africa show in 2023

Hailing from New York, Porter will start his tour at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town on 21 January. This will be followed by three concerts in Johannesburg at Montecasino’s Teatro on 26, 27 and 28 January.

The tour, titled An Intimate Evening with Gregory Porter, is presented by local promoter Showtime Management. This won’t be Porter’s first time in South Africa having performed at the Joy of Jazz festival in 2014 and 2015.

“Whether he’s recording, streaming or live on stage, Gregory Porter's stature is far bigger in the hearts of his South African fans,” Showtime Management’s Tony Feldman said. “We are looking forward to hosting this music giant when he returns next year.”

Over the past decade, Porter has taken the world by storm, bringing jazz to the masses and collecting numerous accolades and acknowledgements. Known for his warm baritone vocals, he rose to acclaim in 2010 with his earthy, cross-pollinated brand of jazz, soul, and gospel. A gifted singer of the standards as well as more contemporary soul material, Porter has earned favourable comparisons to his idols Nat King Cole, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder.

Porter announced his arrival by picking up a Grammy nomination for his 2010 debut album, Water. After signing to Blue Note, he gained even wider notice for his third album Liquid Spirit, which hit number two on the jazz charts, and won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Produced by Brian Bacchus, Liquid Spirit album landed at number two on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. It also became the one of the most streamed jazz albums of all time, with over 20 million streams. Some of Porter’s albums include Take Me to the Alley, Live in Berlin, Nat King Cole & Me, One Night Only – Live At The Royal Albert Hall, All Rise and Still Rising, a double album which features 34 brand new songs, covers duets and a handpicked selection of his much-loved tracks.

Of the collection, Porter said: “This is my music up until now, but it’s not a ‘Greatest Hits’. They often come at the end of someone’s career, and I still feel new and young in mine. I have much more to say.

“There is always something in an artist’s career that people don’t know about; I wanted to bring it to their attention. The album title echoes my last one, All Rise, because I am reiterating something evident in my music and the new songs here – this upward-looking optimism about life and love. It’s an unfinished story for me, both musically and personally. And I’m still learning how to do this. Still rising.”

Early in 2021, Porter was invited by Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Somi to feature on a song ‘Love Tastes like Strawberries’ off her fifth studio album Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, a tribute to Makeba and Harry Belafonte’s 1965 album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba.

Tickets to the Cape Town and Johannesburg shows are available here and here, respectively.