The California-based star is part of a galaxy of jazz legends to have performed at the 46-year-old Irish music festival, including Ella Fitzgerald, Wynton Marsalis, B.B. King, Dave Brubeck, Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.
The 52-year-old singer admitted he felt greatly honoured to have seen his two Opera House performances sell out within minutes.
His 2016 appearance at Cork Jazz proved a huge success – and he admitted he wanted to make a return visit.
“I love performing in Ireland… and it has been too long since I was here,” he said.
Irish history and music resonates with the star.
“When I heard Irish music I thought that’s the blues of another kind. I can understand music that comes from struggle, from having to overcome something and from the human spirit.”
The star is no stranger to Ireland, having performed here on multiple occasions – and has also appeared on such TV shows as The Late Late Show and the Graham Norton Show.
“I am always thinking of balance. So I sing: ‘Help me just to pass this test of time, I wish that I was blind, strange thing to wish for, but I just can’t unsee all this misery…’ That has been instilled in me, and it keeps coming up in a lot of my music,” Porter said.
“At your highest, at your greatest, at your most pleasant time, don’t forget about other people who are suffering. This is another one of those moments in my music.”
Porter’s Cork performances were with his famous jazz-soul ensemble including pianist Chip Crawford, Emmanuel Harrold on drums and percussion, Jahmal Nichols on bass, Ondre Pivec on Hammond organ, and Tivon Pennicott on saxophone.
Porter is the headliner for the 46th Cork Jazz Festival which boasts the biggest programme and number of venues in its proud history.
The event is now worth an astonishing €7,000 per minute to the Cork economy.
The festival – only created in 1977/78 because a bridge tournament booked for the historic Metropole Hotel was cancelled at the eleventh hour – now ranks as one of the premier jazz events in the world.
It delivers more than €50m in hospitality spending to the Cork economy over its October 24-28 programme.
Over 100,000 music fans will flock to Cork for a festival which has become the single most important tourism event to the Leeside economy outside the peak summer season.
This year, the jazz programme will extend to 99 venues across Cork, Douglas, Blarney and Kinsale with over 500 artists taking part.
While singer Gregory Porter headlines the programme with a sell-out series of concerts at Cork Opera House, other major acts include Hot Chip, Mary Coughlan, Buena Vista All Stars, Les Amazones d’Afrique, Orchestra Baobab, Amadou and Mariam and Takuya Kuroda.
Other highlights this year include an exclusive curated show – We Almost Lost Detroit – the music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson – with Jackson himself, joined by special guests.
The festival is also showcasing emerging Irish talent who are combining elements of soul, jazz, hip-hop and R&B in their work.
This includes acts such as Shiv, F3miii, Curtisy, Projective, DeCarteret, AbbieLee & Catherine, Cooks But We’re Chefs and Rachael Mae Hannon.
A popular innovation is the Brass Band Boat Cruise which combines jazz with the highlights of Cork harbour.
An annual favourite will also return with a special jazz parade through Cork city centre.
The expanded jazz music trail will offer free performances in a total of 72 pubs and clubs throughout the city while the popular Big Fringe also returns.
Organised by the local Cork Jazz Festival Committee, the free programme will feature impromptu moments of jazz, big brass bands and spontaneous performances by some of Ireland and Europe’s finest jazz talent along the streets of Cork
Committee Chairperson Fiona Collins said the ‘Big Fringe’ is one of the highlights of the entire festival.
“The Big Fringe is a big part of the heart and soul of the festival where music spills onto the streets, bringing spontaneous, free performances that everyone can enjoy,” she said.
The festival this year will also see a dream come true for one artist.
Communications guru Helen O’Dwyer said she was “absolutely thrilled” to be asked to add her acclaimed ‘Frankly My Dear’ show to the Metropole Hotel where the jazz club is based.
The show is an homage to the great era of jazz, Broadway and the ‘Rat Pack.’
“To be honest ‘Frankly My Dear’ is my baby – it isn’t just a music act that blends jazz and Broadway. It is an adventure and a labour of love. I guess it’s never too late to chase your dreams,” she said.
In 2021, the Cork Jazz proved a trailblazer for the return of the Irish entertainment industry after a two year Covid-19 lockdown.