Gregory Porter says receiving awards is like "being paid to breathe" for him.
The jazz superstar released his new album ‘Take Me To The Alley’ on Friday (06.05.16) and despite winning a Grammy for his previous offering ‘Liquid Spirit’ he still remains humble about his success and says being recognised for his art is an added bonus to him.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he said: "I am a amazed on daily occurrence. In my humble approach to music, things like getting an award is like being paid to breathe. Music was something I was always going to do and so now people are recognising what I do is a bonus."
Broadening out from his jazz roots, Gregory, 44, has worked with a diverse range of artists, including dance duo Disclosure and Laura Mvula, but he doesn’t feel like he needs to keep "reinventing" himself in order stay current.
He said: "I don’t ever feel like I need to stop and reinvent myself. I’m not going to start dyeing my hair or painting my fingernails!"
His new LP includes ‘Holding On’, which Gregory made with brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence from Disclosure, which was a "cool experience" because they wrote the music as a team and it allowed for Gregory’s music to reach a wider audience.
Speaking about collaborating with them and songwriter Jimmy Napes – famed for working with Sam Smith – on the track, he said: "Working with them was a cool experience. They didn’t just say, ‘Just sing some oohs and ahs into the microphone and we are going to take it and flip it around.’
"We sat down at a piano with Howard and Jimmy Napes, we wrote a song essentially about the irresistibly about love. To do it as a dance track was great. I was glad to do it and it did get my music into some ears that wouldn’t usually hear me, the jazz singer."
Gregory Porter: Awards are an added bonus
