Gregory Porter has been presented with the MOBO Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Gregory Porter
The jazz singer/songwriter was given the esteemed honour on Tuesday night (07.11.17) in front of an intimate crowd at London's Gresham Centre ahead of the full MOBOs ceremony on November 29 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
He said: "I am truly privileged to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award from the MOBOs. It is a great honour and I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in my career so far. Nat King Cole was my earliest musical inspiration so it seems fitting that I dedicate this award to him."
The 46-year-old singer is in good spirits as of late, with his fifth studio album 'Nat "King" Cole & Me' hitting number three in the UK album charts.
He previously revealed his current dream collaboration would be 'Shape of You' superstar Ed Sheeran, and praised the command he holds over an audience.
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."
Meanwhile, Porter's award comes a fortnight before the third annual Pre-MOBO Award Show on November 20, which will be held at Boisdale, Canary Wharf in London.
Winners for Best R&B/Soul, Best Jazz, Best Gospel and Best Reggae acts will be announced in the evening, just over a week before the MOBO Awards itself.