Charlie Porter

Charlie Porter is a GRAMMY Award–winning jazz trumpeter and composer who has been active on the international jazz scene for over two decades. He has released six albums as a leader, including Immigration Nation, which was named one of the Best Albums of the Year by DownBeat. As a performer and bandleader, Porter has appeared at major jazz festivals worldwide and at leading New York venues including The Blue Note, Smalls, Dizzy’s Club, Birdland, and The Jazz Gallery, among many others.

Of Lebanese, Greek, Italian, and British ancestry, Porter brings a naturally cross-cultural perspective to his work, shaping projects that merge musical traditions, interdisciplinary collaboration, and narrative design in ways that continually push the boundaries of jazz. He has collaborated and performed with a wide range of artists across generations of the music, including Joe Zawinul, Orrin Evans, Chuck Israels, Kenny Washington, Paquito D’Rivera, Winard Harper, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars, among many others. His work emphasizes long-form composition, ensemble interplay, and concept-driven projects that often expand the possibilities of traditional jazz presentation — from live collaborations with visual artists to immersive, narrative-driven releases. DownBeat has described his playing as “fluid, expressive, and magnificent.” In addition to his work as a recording artist, he continues to develop new projects that explore the evolving language of modern jazz.

Charlie’s current work includes the upcoming release of his seventh album as a leader, Sci-Fi Standards, Vol. 1: The Future We Knew, due this summer. The project reimagines music from classic science-fiction cinema through an original jazz lens, blending composition, improvisation, and ensemble interplay. Following boundary-expanding releases such as Cipher and his Sketches project — which featured live collaboration with visual artists — the album continues Porter’s ongoing exploration of new creative frameworks. Its release will coincide with tours throughout the East Coast, West Coast, and Asia.

As a composer, Porter has been commissioned by the Doris Duke Foundation and Chamber Music America. He is currently Professor of Trumpet at New York University.