Sullivan Fortner | The Art of Improvisation

Sullivan Fortner, piano | The Art of Improvisation

Monday | December 5, 2022
7:30 pm CST
The Menil Collection
1533 Sul Ross St, Houston TX 77006

Sullivan Fortner is inspired by music of multiple eras – preserving tradition while evolving the sound, and making connections among styles that are deeply soulful and wildly inventive. Within phrases, he finds universes. For the past decade, this vibrant New Orleans native has been garnering praise for his talents as a pianist, composer and bandleader, winning the 2015 American Pianists Awards. In 2019, Fortner won Rising Star-Piano and Rising Star Jazz Artist in the DownBeat Critics Poll. This Grammy Award-winner received international praise as both key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window with vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant.

“His fundamentals as a player could hardly be stronger, and his instincts as a composer and bandleader are almost startlingly mature… an artist with his own distinct style” – The New York Times

“dazzling… a pianist on the rise” — JazzTimes