Blues pianist Murray Porter has been sporting hats since he was a young child.
At his recent birthday party, his sister created a collage of Porter and his hat collection through the years. He even wore a black fedora on the red carpet at the Juno Awards this past spring, when he won Aboriginal recording of the year for his album Songs Lived and Life Played.
I recently visited Porter at his home on the Capilano Reserve in North Vancouver. He shared this story behind his favourite hat:
“My all-time favourite hat is a hand-woven cedar fedora custom-made by Marlene Liddle from Haida Gwaii," he said. "She spent over 75 hours making this hat (see photo 2 above).
"My new favourite hat is a purple and white straw fedora (see below) that matches the colours of the wampum of the Haudenosaunee people. The Six Nations of the Grand River Territory is where I was born and raised. Wampum comes from the shell of the quahog clam. It’s strung together to tell our stories, our legends and our treaties. With no written language, this wampum was essential to keep records of our history."
Porter's music reflects his heritage and the history of Canada's Aboriginal Peoples. The song "Is Sorry Enough?" was written by Porter and his partner in life and work, Elaine Bomberry. They wrote it a week after the Canadian government officially apologized to Indian residential school survivors.
Take a listen to that song and others by this amazing blues piano player.
Murray Porter playlist:
1. "Is Sorry Enough?"
2. "Rez Bluez"
3. "Set My Luv Free"
Related links:
Bruthers of Different Muthers rock rings as a favourite accessory