After
gaining international acclaim for his piano playing in ensembles led by Roy
Hargrove, Etienne Charles, Christian Scott, and Stefon Harris, 28-year-old New
Orleans native Sullivan Fortner announces his emergence as a solo recording
artist with Aria, a remarkable debut for impulse! Records. Produced by
Jean-Philippe Allard and Brian Bacchus, Aria showcases Fortner's mastery at
both rendering well-chosen standards and composing memorable melodies.
On Aria,
Fortner leads a splendid ensemble, comprised of drummer Joe Dyson, Jr., bassist
Aidan Carroll, and tenor and soprano saxophonist Tivon Pennicott. Together they
forge a warm, bracing sound that suggests an accord that has developed over
several years. "I didn't want it to sound like a leader's record. I wanted
it sound like a band's record," Sullivan explains.
The album
begins with the title-track - a percussive original - on which Sullivan
initially tickles a repetitive dance-like rhythm that hints at the music of
modern classical composer Steve Reich and Latin jazz, thanks to the buoying
rhythm section. After Pennicott's soaring soprano solo, Fortner quickly
displays his formidable skills as an improviser with passages that are as
sophisticated harmonically as they are rhythmically. Interestingly enough,
"Aria" is part of a six-movement suite, "Expansions: Suite in
'B' for Jazz Quintet," which was commissioned by New York City's Jazz
Gallery.
Fortner, in
fact, uses three other compositions from "Expansions" on the album -
the capricious "Parade," which is distinguished by a jaunty melody
and a tugging rhythmic undertow, betraying his fondness for Thelonious Monk;
the prancing "Passepied," a tune inspired by Fortner's exploration in
Baroque classical music, particularly Johann Sebastian Bach's French dance
suites; and the spry "Finale," which bounces to a lithe rhythm that
implies the second-line drumming of Fortner's Crescent City hometown.
The other
original on Aria is "Ballade," a gentle sauntering ballad, written in
dedicated to the pianist's mother, Cynthia Fortner, which affords listeners to
gleam Sullivan's crisp, impeccable touch and cogent, modest melodic sense in
addition to Pennicott's billowing tenor saxophone asides.
As for the
covers, Fortner offers a glimpse into his intriguing influences. His love for
Monk rears it's head again on his take on
"I Mean
You," on which the intricate rhythms and melodies are wonderfully articulated
by Dyson and Carroll, which gives Fortner ample support to demonstrate
inventive improvisations.
Fortner
reflects on his childhood with a gleeful reading of Fred Rogers's "You Are
Special," a song that the composer sang regularly on his acclaimed PBS
children's TV show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. "As a little kid, I grew up watching
that show and being in awe with the music, especially the piano player,"
Fortner recalls. The pianist got the idea to give the song a modern jazz
makeover after saxophonist John Ellis brought it in at the Lafayette Summer
Music Jazz Workshop at the Stanley Middle School in Lafayette, California.
Fortner's
take of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's classic, "All The Things You
Are," is a subtle tribute to the late pianist Cedar Walton. The fanciful
modern arrangement with its tricky interplay and Latin feel is reminiscent of
the one Walton performed with pianist Barry Harris, with whom Fortner studied,
at the Lincoln Center in June 2013 - just months before Walton passed
away. Similarly, Fortner's amorous
interpretation of Duke Pearson's 1966 ballad, "You Know I Care" pays
tribute to trumpeter Roy Hargrove with whom Fortner has performed with as a
sideman.
When Fortner
was pondering the auspicious occasion of making his debut on the legendary
imprint - impulse! Records - it lead to him delivering a flickering solo piano
reading of J. Fred Coots and Sam M Lewis' 1934 ballad, "For All We
Know." "I was thinking that I might not get a chance to record for
impulse! again, so let me make the best of it," Fortner explains with a
robust laugh.
But based
upon Fortner's consummate musicianship as a pianist, improviser, composer and
arrangement, its doubtful that Aria will be just a one-off. Instead, it
promises to be a winning marriage between a venerable label and a gifted
pianist who can surely extend its jazz legacy into the 21st century.
Sullivan
Fortner is a 28-year-old New Orleans-based jazz pianist, composer and arranger
who's already demonstrated prodigious talents. He began playing the piano at
age seven and subsequently won the Cable Cox's "Amazing Kid" award at
age 11. Two years later, he enrolled at the New Orleans Center for Creative
Arts, where he became Valedictorian of his high school graduating class. He
continued his formal music studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where
he earned a Bachelor's degree in jazz performance, and at the Manhattan School
of Music, where he earned a Master's degree in jazz performance. Fortner
complemented that experience by studying under such jazz piano masters as Peter
Martin, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, and Phil Markowitz, and playing in bands led
by Stefon Harris, Etienne Charles, Roy Hargrove, and Christian Scott. Fortner is also the recipient of the 2015
American Pianists Association's prestigious 2015 Cole Porter Fellow Award.
No comments:
Post a Comment