CHARLIE PORTER

This summer, Charlie Porter releases Sci-Fi Standards, Vol. 1: The Future We Knew — a bold reimagining of iconic science-fiction film themes, transformed into expansive, improvisational jazz works. At the heart of jazz is the tradition of the standard, songs drawn from musicals, films, and popular repertoire that become vehicles for improvisation, reinterpretation, and musical conversation. From Broadway to Hollywood, these melodies have formed a shared language for generations of musicians. Sci-Fi Standards extends that lineage into new territory, drawing from the cinematic worlds of science fiction and treating their themes as the next evolution of the jazz standard. Drawing from the shared sonic universe of Blade Runner, Back to the Future, Alien, Star Trek, Star Wars, Dune, The Terminator, and Stargate, the project revisits the futures we once imagined together, worlds filled with possibility, danger, wonder, and hope. These films have shaped generations across borders and backgrounds. Whether remembered vividly or absorbed through cultural memory, their themes live in our collective imagination. In a time when technology increasingly blurs the line between reality and illusion, this music returns to a deeper common ground: shared vision. It has often been suggested that humanity’s divisions might fade in the face of something beyond ourselves, a reminder that beneath our differences, we are part of a single human story. Sci-Fi Standards taps into that idea not as politics, but as perspective, using familiar themes as a way to reconnect through imagination. Charlie Porter is a GRAMMY Award–winning jazz trumpeter and composer active on the international scene for over two decades. He has released six albums as a leader, including Immigration Nation, named one of the Best Albums of the Year by DownBeat. As a bandleader, Porter has performed at major festivals worldwide and at leading New York venues such as The Blue Note, Smalls, Dizzy’s Club, Birdland, and The Jazz Gallery. Known for his concept-driven projects and expressive playing—described by DownBeat as “fluid, expressive, and magnificent”—Porter blends composition, improvisation, and narrative design to push the boundaries of modern jazz. His latest project, Sci-Fi Standards, Vol. 1: The Future We Knew, reimagines music from classic science-fiction cinema through an original jazz lens.