
Gregory Porter: A love of jazz and THAT parking lot performanceGregory Porter dishes on his love of uncle' Hugh Masekela and that impromptu performance in a North West parking lot.
by Mariette van Niekerk
02-02-2023 16:12
in Music
Gregory Porter during his sold out Cape Town show. Image: @gregoryportermusic
| Instagram.
Fans are still in a daze after jazz icon and Grammy winner Gregory Porter's South African tour last month. The singer wowed audiences at sold-out shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
--
ALSO READ: Jazz icon: Fans of Gregory Porter gearing up for his show
GREGORY PORTER REMEMBERS HIS MAHIKENG PARKING LOT SHOW Although he annually books up to 200 concerts, Porter, in a recent interview with News24, revealed that he will always remembers his humble beginnings.
Before the father of two became the powerhouse that he is today, Porter recalled a special impromptu performance in the North West during his first visit to South Africa more than a decade ago.
--
Fresh off his South African tour, Gregory Porter has a special message for SA. Image: @gregoryportermusic | Instagram. People will say that I've performed at the fancy Royal Albert Hall. Yeah, sure, but when I first came to SA, I went to Mahikeng and I performed at a grocery store parking lot in a township. The children were sitting on the pavement. They were about 40 but in my mind they were sitting in the front row of an arena. I love bringing music to the people. When I sing Take Me To The Alley, this is what I am talking about, Porter told The Citizen.
When I came here the first time, I thought I was just extra entertainment but there were thousands of people singing my songs back to me. I was a bit shocked. I don't perform the songs the way I do on the studio version. The song at the time was Hey Laura, and I was deviating from the studio version and the audience was singing it back to me the way it was. Now I had to remember how I sang it, he added.
Porter has a special message for the people of South Africa.
At your most majestic, you should not forget the people who are in the darkness, the people who need your help. The hungry people, don't forget about them, he told eNCA in a video interview.
--
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Gregory Porter (@gregoryportermusic)
ODE TO UNCLE' HUGH MASEKELA The past week marked five years since the passing of South African jazz royalty Hugh Masekela.
During the interview, Porter expressed his admiration and love for the late musician.
Hugh has always felt like an uncle in a way. I've only had an opportunity to meet him twice before he passed. His sound, rawness and way of doing things is a way that can influence a lot of artists today.
I once saw him perform and at that time, he was well-up in age, and I saw him bend down almost all the way to the floor, and he played his horn almost on the floor. I was on tour at that time and I was a bit tired. I tried to do what he did and I couldn't do it. That is how fantastic he was, he added.
HIS LOVE OF JAZZ RUNS DEEP Apart from his admiration for Hugh Masekela, Porter is also a big fan of Nat King Cole.
When I was a little boy I did not know that I was listening to jazz when my mother put on Nat King Cole, I had no idea what it was but it was good. My mother used to take out the sound system and put it out on the street and she would say, son, sing to these people' , the icon said.
These people were alcoholics, prostitutes and people who had some difficulty with drugs. And she told me that those are the people who need what I have because those are the first people who I sang for, Porter recalled.
He credits his musical idols Luther Vandross and James Brown, and encourage upcoming jazz artists to embrace the work of those who preceded the way for them.
Every generation has new influences. I had different influences than Nat King Cole had. Marvin Gaye had different influences. But how fortunate am I to have the influence of Marvin Gaye, Don Hathaway, Bill Withers. I think it should be acceptable to bring in new influences because you build off the legacy of what came before. We should not fear salting the sound of jazz with good hip hop. All the other music are cousins of jazz, he explains.
ALSO READ: Grammys 2023: Here's who will attend/ skip music's biggest night
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY MARIETTE VAN NIEKERK
Financial freedom helps to reduce the burden of living from paycheck to paycheck. Read more here!
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
22/04/2026
Solid State Logic is advancing its System T platform with a stronger focus on IP...
22/04/2026
From immersive audio to live streaming, Dolby Laboratories is focused on the fut...
22/04/2026
Shallow depth-of-field cameras have taken the industry by storm. Its debut a han...
22/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) announced that Eastern Kentucky University (...
22/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
22/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine 12K LF 100G, a new model in the URSA Cine family adding 100G Ethernet for SMPTE 2110 live production output up to ...
22/04/2026
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, NEP is leaning into hybrid production with the...
22/04/2026
NEP VP, Platform Dan Murphy sits down at the 2026 NAB Show to unpack what NEP P...
22/04/2026
Spotify and the New York Liberty are teaming up to give music and basketball fan...
22/04/2026
New 20-minute documentary explores iconic design The Focusrite Room in Mesa, Arizona, where John Aquilino hosts the Studio Console 005.
In 2025, Focusrite co...
22/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
22/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
22/04/2026
Combines three distinct analogue EQ emulations
The latest addition to Acustica Audio's ever-expanding collection of analogue-emulation plug-ins combines...
22/04/2026
Final instalment in vintage-inspired instrument series
Analog Empire: Bass & Lead marks the final instalment in Melda Production's vintage hardware-insp...
22/04/2026
Fuzz pedal joins all-analogue Series A line
Given that Strymons reputation was built on unapologetically digital pedals, it was a little surprising to see t...
22/04/2026
SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge
22 April, 2026
Media releases
National broadcaster also releases its second annual...
22/04/2026
Why Low Band Electronic Warfare Matters...
22/04/2026
The nation unites around football team's World Cup dream
Warsaw, Poland, 20.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and media intell...
22/04/2026
Warsaw, Poland, 22.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data...
22/04/2026
New market intelligence offering gives businesses a clearer view of local consum...
22/04/2026
Glookast Unveils New UX, YouTube and Social Media Connectors, Premiere Panel, Ci...
22/04/2026
Lightcraft Technology to Preview Spark Story at NAB 2026 with Interactive Previs...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
22 Apr 2026
VEON's Banglalink to Bring Starlink Mobile to Customers in Bangladesh Bangladesh becomes the third market where VEON and Starlink Mobile partne...
22/04/2026
U have unveiled exclusive first-look images for their six-part police thriller Hit Point, starring Nick Blood (Day of the Jackal) and BAFTA nominee Saffron Hock...
22/04/2026
What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week?
This week on UKTV and the free streaming service U, viewers can watch a range of new and returning programm...
22/04/2026
Wednesday 22 April 2026
Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursa...
22/04/2026
Back to All News
This Earth Day, Discover the Sustainable Productions Behind Our Films and Series
Emma Stewart, Ph.D.
Netflix Sustainability Officer
Enterta...
22/04/2026
The move from Retail Media to Commerce Media is about broadening the scope of th...
22/04/2026
April 22 2026, 07:00 (PDT) Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series,...
22/04/2026
RT Documentary On One 7-part series breaks US market for first time
RT Programme Sales has announced its first deal with a US distribution partner for its 7-...
22/04/2026
NVIDIA and Google Cloud have collaborated for more than a decade, co engineering a full stack AI platform that spans every technology layer - from performance o...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...