Volkswagen presents: exclusive Jazz Dinner with Grammy winner Gregory Porter

• Grammy winner and  Jazz star presents his new album “Nat King Cole & Me“ at  DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum in Berlin 
• Start of the GQ awards “Men of the Year“ – supported by Volkswagen on November 9
• Gregory Porter & the Dresdner Kreuzchor join up for a session in Hansa Studios  

Berlin, November 8, 2017 – As part of the exclusive Dinner Night presented by Volkswagen, the US American Jazz and Soul singer Gregory Porter brings his sound to Berlin. Porter will perform excerpts of his new Blue Note album “Nat King Cole & Me” to the an  exclusive audience including many prominent guests.

Gregory Porter has been awarded two Grammys and one ECHO Jazz Award and is known as the most important talent of contemporary Jazz and Soul. He is a well-received guest at renowned festivals like “Elbjazz” Festival, Blue Note Jazz Festival and Chicago Jazz Festival and has also  performed with the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra, and at the Glastonbury Festival and even in the Royal Albert Hall in London. 

He is true to the heritage of Jazz and Soul though his musical vocabulary is much more flexible, He feels at home performing Gospel and Rhythm & Blues as well as Funk. Porter crosses borders of music genres and raises a broader interest for Jazz beyond the traditional audience. His live shows are a balanced mixture of interpretations of Gospel and Soul classics, Swing and Funk pieces and Jazz improvisations. His wide oeuvre connected him with artists like the Blue Note AllStars, Jamie Cullum, Lizz Wright, Max Herre, Till Brönner, Dianne Reeves, Renée Fleming, Andreas Varady and the British Electronica duo Disclosure. In his new album, Porter highlights his personal relationship with the great Jazz musician Nat King Cole and transports classics such as “L-O-V-E", "Nature Boy" and "Smile" to the present day. 

Demand is high for tickets to this exclusive performance: Among the guests from business, culture, sports and society were also the musician Robert „Kool“ Bell (from the Disco Funk band “Kool & the Gang“), Flake Lorenz (Keyboarder of the band Rammstein) and Friedrich Lichtenstein,  director Oliver Berben, actors Max von Thun and Sebastian Koch and professional Bundesliga  footballer and member of the German national football team Mario Gómez. Also invited were photographer and Volkswagen culture ambassador Andreas Mühe as well as cellist and intendant of the Dresden Music Festival Jan Vogler, who presented “New Worlds” with Hollywood star Bill Murray at the same event last year, which has gone on to become an international celebrated stage event, including a recording which reached the top of the US Classic Charts.

The Dinner Night 2017 continues with what has begun with Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends last year: It embodies the approach of Volkswagen Company to develop the forum at the boulevard Unter den Linden in the heart of Berlin as an inspiring stage in cultural life.

Once again, the Dinner Night takes place on the evening before the GQ Awards in the Komische Oper Berlin, at which Gregory Porter will be awarded as GQ Man of the Year in the category  “Music International“.

Also there will be a very unique musical event tomorrow, November 9: Gregory Porter and the renowned Dresdner Kreuzchor, which is supported by Volkswagen, will meet at the legendary Hansa Studios to sing together combining Top-notch choir tradition and virtuous Jazz acrobatics to create an ambitious sound experience.

Picture and video material of the event is solely authorized by Volkswagen plc for editorial use in connection with the event ‘Volkswagen Dinner Night 2017’ and ‘GQ Men of the Year’ gala 2017. Please take note of the photo credit in the picture data when using. Further footage can be found here: https://transfer.rethink.berlin/data/public/porter