Today (Nov. 19) the Pandora online radio service launches its first pop-up jazz mode—a feature that allows users to customize their listening experience—and Gregory Porter is leading the way. For "Pop-Up: Gregory Porter," the singer/songwriter has selected a group of key songs by himself and others, complete with recorded commentary on what the tracks mean to him. In essence, it's as if he were taking over a special radio show—one with the power to influence your own future listening.

In the audio clip below, which can also be heard in his Pandora mode, Porter discusses his song "Liquid Spirit" and mentions that it was inspired by metaphors that his late mother Ruth, a minister, frequently used in her sermons.

 

Also featured in "Pop-Up: Gregory Porter" are tracks by John Coltrane, Nat King Cole, and Jon Lucien, among others.

You can check out Gregory Porter's pop-up mode on Pandora here.