Index – Culture – A Grammy Award-winning international star arrived in Veszprém, and was applauded by an audience of several thousand.

VeszprémFest 2024 is coming to an end, with many exciting artists performing this year as well. Milky Chance and Paloma Faith performed – and we also interviewed them – and José Cura and Ferenc Snittberger took the stage. On the penultimate day, we saw Gregory Porter perform on July 19, 2024 at the Historia Kurt in Veszprém, which left a deep impression on us and many in the audience: the hat icon and his band were rewarded with a standing ovation.

The performance was preceded by long, hot days, and the mild weather of a few degrees meant a lot, as a crowd of several thousand gathered for the jazz singer’s concert. It was practically a full house. The slowly trickling crowd was welcomed by DJ Galler from 8pm, who set the mood for his program of selected funky and soul hits from the past millennium.

By the time the rider finished his show, the rows of chairs were slowly filling up. Several people took their seats with drinks, others with pastries and sandwiches, and then the organizers played some introductory songs over the speakers so we could hear the show, which started a few minutes after nine.

intimate conversation

You can never get bored at a Gregory Porter concert because, unlike many artists, he doesn’t travel around the world with the same setlist. Although there are songs to play, there are always slight variations. His current performance began with an older work, the opening track to his 2012 album: painted on canvas.

The singer, although he does not speak much at his concerts, occasionally addresses the audience with a sentence. This was the case now, when he recalled his concert in Veszprém eight years ago, or when he mentioned the small jazz club in Harlem to which he had invited his audience in his imagination.

When it comes to performance, there are many different types of jazz artists. There are the amazing virtuosos who sing amazingly throughout their concerts, leaving the audience in awe, like Aretha Franklin or Nina Simone. And there are those who don’t seem to be singing, but rather telling a story, like Nat King Cole (for whom Gregory Porter sang many songs), Frank Sinatra or Cab Calloway.

At least that's what he's shown the audience now. If necessary, he's able to flash exciting, varied and sometimes surprising vocal techniques, at other times he cleans up his performance, and even in an intimate conversation he talks about himself, his feelings and thoughts.

The quality of the exciting and bold jazz singer was evident in songs such as the famous liquid spiritWhich was performed as the fourth number in the concert – and the audience applauded throughout. The emotional and intimate moments appeared mostly in songs like water under the bridges (sung with piano accompaniment), explaining that the song, although supposed to be about a breakup, was actually inspired by his brother.

The real band

What's particularly interesting is that although songs from all eras were performed on the show, most of them were probably the ones that brought her her first Grammy Award. liquid spirit It came from his album. In addition to the two songs mentioned above, they also performed works such as Hi Laura And the Musical GenocideThe latter was accompanied by a juxtaposition of a double bass solo and some cover songs, which was enjoyable. Play that funky music. The main theme of the song led me to the single. This kind of musical mix enhanced it in a special way. Musical Genocide As a kind of context extension.

Many instrumental solos can be heard in the concert, so drums, piano, saxophone and Hammond organ are also highlighted, some more than once. The Gregory Porter Band consists of professional, audience-oriented musicians:

• Typhon Pennicott: saxophone,
• Chip Crawford: piano,
• Simon Auslander: Hammond Member,
• Jamal Nichols: bass guitar, double bass,
• Emmanuel Harold: drums.

The (first) ending of the concert concluded with a frenzied musical frenzy. Mr. HollandThey were turned away. The song started off sad with vocals and piano and soon the stage erupted. Gregory Porter said goodbye during the musical part and left the stage. Tyvon Pennicott dropped to his knees during the song's closing solo in an experiment that put rock guitarists to shame, showing off his amazing lungs.

The continued applause paid off, and Gregory Porter returned to the stage and said he would like the audience to join him on his tour. He then performed with his orchestra. You can join my band. He even managed to get the local crowd to sing along, who thanked him countless times at the end of the song, then said goodbye again, for the last time during the evening.

Gregory Porter's concert was a tremendous experience, emphasizing at once exciting, talented and professional musical perception, emotional performance, audience-centered storytelling and a great deal of fun. The California-born singer who became a star in New York, we hope he returns to our country as soon as possible so we can experience this experience again.

But there is no stopping until then, because the last artist at VeszprémFest 2024 is yet to come. On the evening of July 20, the world-famous Toto will arrive with such huge hits as Africathe hold the line Or the RosanaDue to expected rain, the band will perform at Veszprém Arena instead of História Kert.

(Cover image: Ben Tovesi/Index)

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