Jazz musician

Part 5.- You are going to read an article about a jazz musician. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (A, B, C, or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

 

Jazz musician

Reporter John Bungey meets the US  singer Gregory Porter, one of the hottest names in jazz.

Gregory Porter may be tired – he arrived from Zurich just 40 minutes ago – but at least he knows where he is. This is not always the case. There is a  smile as he sinks into a comfortable hotel chair. ‘Yeah, it happens ll the time. I wake up slowly, I’m kind of brain dead and I’m not sure where I am… and then you can lose days – fly over some data line, and what happened to Thursday? ‘If another singer has a right to be disoriented it is Porter, thanks to a midlife surge that propelled him fro obscurity into becoming jazz’s music’s number one vocal draw. Last year he spent 300 days on the road playing 250 dates. Every one sold out.

 

Porter sings jazz, gospel and soul in a rich baritone voice, often in a style that many thought had died out with black-and-white TV. He’s a road dog whose career (line16) depends on profitable live shows, not on the slim pickings of digital music streaming services. Hence a performing tour that sees him in Europe, with the odd American detour, all spring and summer. ‘To be the most streamed artist in jazz, what does that mean’ A cheque for about $120.’ Good job, then, that he loves the roar of the crowd. ‘There are certain nights when the voice is perfect and there’s nothing you can’t do. Your hearing is crystal-clear. You never know when that’s going to happen and that’s the magic of it.’

Porter, at 1.9 metres, has the build of the professional American football player he hoped he would be before injury intervened. He’s wearing trainers and jogging bottoms plus a smart tweed jacket and waistcoat – sort of half off-duty, half on. And then there’s the famous cap with its enveloping chin strap. No marketing department could dream him up.

 

At the age of 45, delayed success is all the sweetener. After college he tried odd jobs in a dog-food factory and mixing aromatherapy oils. He was a barista and in his mid-20s began to think that cookery might be his professional calling. In his free time he acted occasionally, but singing was a constant. ‘I had a great voice when I was 22, but I was looking for someone to make on – a producer and an arranger – and they never came. And I suffered.’

He says he has often reflected on the forces that shape a life. ‘What fascinates me is: how do you find your soil? Where is the best place to grow, to be what you can be?’ Perhaps some people never do find their place. ‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘Maybe that’s the angry person behind the window (line 45) when you’ve got to buy your ticket. Some people have settled in their discontent. I was pretty near there… I just needed to make a statement, however small, even if nobody heard it.’

 

That small statement – a demo, not a finished record – earned a hearing in Russia, where he played in concert halls to great acclaim. While there, he met his Russian wife, Victoria.

Porter writes more of his material than most singers in his field and says that spending so much of life being transported around between concerts does not get in the way; in fact sitting in the back of a car watching the scenery trundle by can inspire. ‘Something about my eyes darting back and forth as things pass. Something about motion always triggers me and my brain goes into a place where I start thinking about my past,, my dreams, my future. The poetry comes to me; the melody comes to me; they come together.’

 

 

31.- When meets the writer, Porter is…

A) relieved to find he has the right time and place.

B) more alert than he can sometimes be.

C) unaware of how late he is.

D) apologetic for being tired.

 

32.- The phrase ‘slim pickings’ (line 16) tells us that Porter…

A) is now in a position to choose the work he wants.

B) is listened to by relatively few younger people.

C) likes the simplicity of the idea of streaming.

D) earns little from streaming services.

 

33.- In his description of Porter’s appearance, the writer suggests that Porter…

A) doesn’t care much about how he looks off-stage.

B) doesn’t yet have a well-planned individual image.

C) doesn’t fit with the marketing image created for him.

D) doesn't use his muscular physique enough when performing.

 

 

34.- When Porter says he ‘suffered’ in his twenties, he is referring to the fact that…

A) none of the jobs he tried suited him.

B) certain people he trusted didn’t support him.

C) the opportunity he longed for didn’t happen.

D) he was often too busy to keep us his singing.

 

35.- The ‘angry person behind the window’ (line 45) represents someone who…

A) has no capacity for deep thoughts about life.

B) thinks of themselves before other people.

C) should make more of an effort in their job.

D) has accepted they’re never going to achieve their dreams.

 

36.- Porter says that travelling in the back of a car…

A) is something he’s had to get used to.

B) enables him to think creatively.

C) is less than ideal for writing down new songs.

D) has become his way of switching off and relaxing.