Gregory Porter is desperate to collaborate with Ed Sheeran.
The 45-year-old jazz musician is huge fan of the ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker and admires his talent to perform at arenas around the world, while making his fans feel like they are watching him up close and personal.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he said: "I’ve been rubbing elbows at certain events with Ed Sheeran and we haven’t had the opportunity to perform as a duet together but he has a beautiful style and approach and I like what he does and the way he can take a massive environment and make it small.
"I’ve seen him at Wembley, I saw him take that space and turn it into a tiny club and that is what you try to do wherever you are as an artist, try to create intimacy.
"It’s a skill not everybody can do that, some people need 20 dancers and a light show but the ability to make 5000 people feel that they are at a dinner party is a skill."
The ‘Liquid Spirit’ hitmaker thinks the pair would make a great love ballad together.
He said: "He (Ed) hit me up, he tweeted about one of my songs so it would probably be some interesting thoughtful song about love, love lost and how to get it back, a song that has poetic changes and ups and downs."
Gregory releases a new album next month, his personal tribute to his idol, late jazz legend Nat King Cole, and he says it was the "emotion" of the songs that drew him to the project.
He explained: "Emotion influenced me, I listened to Nat King Cole from the age of 5 or 6, I knew that this was something beautiful or deeper, these songs are very important to me.
"When it was time for me to step up to the professional microphone I would always consider, what would Nat King Cole do with this song, how would he find the depth and meaning into this song.
"That is how I jumped into this music, I approached it with the beauty that Nat King Cole would approach this music and some of the messages are universal stories."
Gregory Porter releases his new album ‘Nat King Cole & Me’ on October 27 via Decca Blue Note Records.
Gregory Porter keen for Ed Sheeran duet
