Art Porter

My Friend In 1996 Porter traveled to Thailand to appear at the Thailand International Jazz Festival. After the festival on 23 November he went boating on the Kratha Taek reservoir in Sai Yok, Thailand. Tragically, the boat Porter was traveling on overturned, and Porter, along with several others, drowned. Porter was survived by his wife and two elementary age sons. In 1998, the album For Art's Sake was posthumously released in his honor. It was filled with songs Porter had composed and played, but had not yet put on an album, as well as songs by other artists dedicated to Porter.

In 1996 Porter traveled to Thailand to appear at the Thailand International Jazz Festival. After the festival on 23 November he went boating on the Kratha Taek reservoir in Sai Yok, Thailand. Tragically, the boat Porter was traveling on overturned, and Porter, along with several others, drowned. Porter was survived by his wife and two elementary age sons. In 1998, the album For Art's Sake was posthumously released in his honor. It was filled with songs Porter had composed and played, but had not yet put on an album, as well as songs by other artists dedicated to Porter.


Achievements

Porter has been inducted into the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame. Porter received the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.