Gregory Porter
A two-time Grammy Award winner for Best Vocal Jazz Album, this international superstar transcends genres—from blues to gospel to soul—with his caramel-smooth voice.
“I fundamentally believe that we can choose to be optimistic,” says Gregory Porter, who has sung for Queen Elizabeth II and performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall as well as on the main stage at the Glastonbury Festival.
Although he is now a jazz star, success was a long time coming for the singer-songwriter with the warm, enveloping baritone voice. A native of Bakersfield, California, Gregory Porter grew up as one of seven children with an absent father, but was nurtured by the gospel music passed down by his mother, a pastor.
After his debut album *Water*, released in 2010 at age 39, he won his first Grammy Award four years later for *Liquid Spirit* and its intimate single “Hey Laura.” The accolades kept coming for the artist, who was once again named Best Vocal Jazz Album for *Take Me to the Alley* in 2017.
The double album *Still Rising – The Collection*, released on November 5, 2021, the day after his 50th birthday, brings together 34 tracks, including the songs that made him famous, new compositions, and duets with his friend Moby, British jazz musician Jamie Cullum, soprano Renée Fleming, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as well as tracks where his voice is layered over historic recordings by Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. “I’ve always looked up to Nat as a father figure; his music guided and educated me,” the artist says.
We find him in Monaco with these tracks—a feast for the ears that soothes the heart and comforts the soul.
Youn Sun Nah
A leading vocalist in contemporary jazz, capable of shifting from tranquility to powerful energy, the South Korean singer celebrates 25 years of her career with her 13th album, Lost Pieces.
An award-winning international artist, songwriter, and performer, Youn Sun Nah has been praised by The Guardian for her ability to move “from grand impressionistic drama to abstract improvisation, or to the sincere simplicity of a folk artist.”
Based in Seoul, South Korea, she began taking piano lessons as a child before singing gospel with the Korean Symphony Orchestra. While a career in musical theater was opening up for her, she ultimately chose to study at the National Institute of Music in Beauvais, the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory, and the CIM, a school for jazz and contemporary music in Paris.
After gaining recognition with her debut album Reflets (2001), her subsequent albums Same Girl (2010) and Lento (2013) were certified gold in France and Germany. Named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 2019, she made her Warner Music debut that same year with the album Immersion.
Following up on Waking World, where she established herself as a singer-songwriter, she returns with Lost Pieces, released in February 2026, for which she composed all 11 tracks. In it, she explores doubt in love, toward others and toward oneself as well. Her songs evoke loss, separation, and the complexity of human relationships.
Accompanied by a new band, Youn Sun Nah pushes the boundaries of studio recording on stage. It’s an experience that blends tenderness and intensity, as if she were singing softly into our ear.
