- published: 13 Apr 2013
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Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. It was the first year of the 1960s and is also known as the "Year of Africa".
Gregory Porter is a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actor. His debut album, Water, released in 2010 via Motéma Music, was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. He was also a member of the original Broadway cast of It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues. His sophomore album, Be Good, which contains many of Porter's compositions, was released on February 14th, 2012, and garnered critical acclaim for both his distinctive singing and his compositions, such as "Be Good (Lion's Song), "Real Good Hands", and "On My Way To Harlem".
Porter was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Bakersfield, California, where his mother was a minister. He attended San Diego State University on a football scholarship until a shoulder injury sidelined him permanently. Performing in local jazz clubs, Porter met saxophonist, pianist, and composer Kamau Kenyatta, whose mentoring played an integral role in Porter's career trajectory and professional development. Kenyatta introduced Gregory to flautist Hubert Laws who, upon hearing Porter singing along to Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", chose to include a bonus track featuring Porter's vocals on his Hubert Laws' Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole (1998). Eloise Laws, Hubert's sister, happened to be visiting the studio, and helped get Porter cast in one of the leading roles in a new musical, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, which premiered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts before moving to Off-Broadway and ultimately Broadway, in spite of previously having appeared in only one other theatrical work, Avenue X.