Sullivan Fortner Trio

One audience at the Elbphilharmonie has already made the acquaintance of Fortner, born in 1986, as one of the lecturers at its »Jazz Academy« in late summer 2023. And he has been known the world over for many years now, thanks to album releases and video recordings like those where he can be heard alongside the magnificent singer Cécile McLorin Salvant. In their various duo performances, he comes across as a congenial piano partner, bursting with ideas and wit, and always finding different shades and variations on the spur of the moment for his accompaniment.

Most recently, Sullivan Fortner released »Solo Game« (2023), an album where he juggles eras, genres and various forms of jazz expression with astonishing ease on the piano. The jazz piano guru Brad Mehldau recently heard him play solo in Amsterdam and raved afterwards: »Beyond compare. Many of you will know how unreal his music is... Sullivan just blows me away every time I hear him. He goes deep on all levels – touch, counterpoint, extreme relaxation, swing, the transparency of his ideas, no matter how dense the texture is at any one time. Sullivan takes you with him through the entire emotional spectrum, including uninhibited joyfulness. He is completely rooted and completely independent all at once. He’s revolutionizing jazz piano playing right now. I mean, piano playing in general. Period.«