Gregory Porter

“Waving to the Queen after singing Amazing Grace at Buckingham Palace, that was pretty cool.”

“Gospel music was very prevalent in my house. My mother also loved Nat King Cole. That was some of the first music that I heard. Mahalia Jackson, Nat King Cole and the Mississippi Mass Choir.”

“My mother gave me the courage to pursue music as a career on her deathbed. She became very ill when I was 21. I didn't want her to worry about my future. I wanted her to know I'd finish my degree. But she pushed me to follow my dream, even if it wasn't the safe option.”

“If I can hear the music then no, I don't hit a wrong note. But if I can't hear the music because the audience is screaming or the sound system is bad, then I'm subject to stray.”

“I'm really just a singer that's trying to make some music that strikes to the heart.”

“This is one of the major purposes of soul and jazz music; to state what you feel.”

“I heard Smokey Robinson was singing one of my songs on the radio the other day. Being in the presence of Mavis Staples, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott - Stevie Wonder joined me on stage recently. That blows me away.”

“I consider myself a jazz singer. I think I stick to the roots of improvisation, singing in front of the beat, behind the beat, playing with notes and harmonies.”

“The voice is probably supposed to have some cracks and pops and some mistakes in it.”

“One critic called me nothing but a blues singer, as though that was a slight. That is the highest compliment there is.”

“I think every person who gets a football scholarship thinks the potential for great success in college - and maybe even a career in the NFL - is possible.”

“All the events that have made up the character and fabric of British culture and everything that has happened to make up the fabric of America culture - art and music - includes the faces and the colours of a lot of people.”

“My part of Brooklyn has always been a very warm neighbourhood, even before I had anything going on in the music industry. When I step out of my house to go for coffee on Saturday mornings, I might say hi to 20 people before I get to the cafe. I think they feel they own me, in a way.”

“My sisters started to cook at nine and, being one of the youngest, I wanted in on it, too, so I began at six on potato-peeling duty as french fries were my thing.”

“Music that speaks of politics is less listened to than the music of partying, but it's still there.”

“You know Bakersfield was full of workers from the south, from Texas and Arkansas, and they brought their gospel and blues with them. And that's the sound I grew with.”

“I'm always lobbying for the irrepressible strength of love.”

“The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

“I'm very grateful for the success of 'Take Me to the Alley.' The chart position it's reached around the world is very exciting, and its success is an example of the acceptance of my music. I am very thankful.”

“I like to absorb the atmosphere and explore wherever I'm working or visiting, so I can't say there's any type of place I don't like. When you travel you have to be open to new experiences.”