Porter’s note to SA, and his performance in a Mahikeng parking lot

When you consider who is part South African Jazz royalty, the name of the late Hugh Masekela will probably be high up on your list, just as it is on American jazz vocalist Gregory Porter’s list, who to him, was like a relative. January 23 marked five years since the passing of Masekela, who was known for his Market Place, Stimela and Thanayi hits.

Hugh Masekela, the industry uncle

“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,” says Porter.

“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 adds.

The two-time Grammy Award winner has been serenading jazz lovers in Mzansi, having performed in half-a-dozen sold out concerts in the Mother City and Johannesburg, with his last performance at the Teatro in Montecasino this past Saturday, as Showtime Management and Liberty made sure there was no empty seat.

Moments on Mzansi soil

This was Porter’s third visit to the country and while he usually performs in over 200 concerts annually, the Hey Laura hit-maker’s course is leaning towards the back streets, where he sings for the afflicted ones, which explains why he poured his heart and soul in his 2016 Take Me To The Alley hit.

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Before the father of two sons with wife Victoria, became the powerhouse brand that he is today, Porter recalls how fulfilled he was when he performed in the North West over a decade ago.

“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 says.

“I did not get here by trying to be slick or extra cool, but I arrived here by signing an honest message. Singing about the things that my mother taught me. That sold me my first million, by just singing what is in my heart. You can get there by not following what is in the formula but singing what is in your heart.

“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 adds.

Subwoofers and stuff like that

If you grew up in the townships, or still dwell there, you might have come across a house where the sound system is paraded on the stoep playing on maximum volume. This is exactly the same way Porter grew up, and even though the love for music was rooted in his veins, he always wanted to be a football player. His late mother — who died of cancer when he was 21 — bestowed the blessing on him to follow his heart and passions, but always reminded him of his roots.  

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“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’.

“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.

His velvet smooth, silk soft voice is, of course, a God-given gift, but without the influence of his idols such as Luther Vandross and James Brown, just to name a few, the Real Good Hands singer would not be a force to be reckoned with. Which is why he encourages 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.

Message to South Africa

Someone must’ve whispered to Porter’s ear about the state of affairs in the country. The load-shedding. Political climate and all the fabrics that make the cloth that Mzansi is today. Like how Nelson Mandela described sport as a unifier, so is music, Porter suggests.

The Be Good singer recalls a time where he performed in Europe and Kazakhstan, and had no idea of how popular he was. He kept to his predetermined catalogue for that tour, but the response of his audience shocked Porter. And from there on, he never took for granted the passion of music, trials and tribulations the audience in front of him were facing.

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“I went to Netherlands and I did not sing the song Musical Genocide, which was the number one song on the radio in that region at the time. Everyone assumed that I knew and I did not know. I am kind of the DJ when I am on stage and I control what I feel we should perform. I recall going into it,” Porter says.

“If I were to say something to the South Africa audience, firstly it would be about love — No Love Dying Here (this is a song he released in 2013 in the album titled Liquid Spirit). Secondarily, Take Me To The Alley. 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,” Porter adds.

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