Sullivan Fortner Trio - Leave That in There

Unbridled musicality, infectious playing pleasure, and a pinch of unadulterated ‘New Orleans showmanship’: those Grammys are well-deserved Those three Grammys are already in, so – prediction – this will be the last time you see Sullivan Fortner in a room of 250 people. Dat Fred Hersch holding him in high regard as ‘one of the best pianists in the world’ was of course already a sign on the wall. And the fact that the pianist, who worked with Wynton Marsalis, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Paul Simon, likes to joke with his audience doesn't exactly decrease his popularity. But it all fits into that wonderful tradition of the music cafes in New Orleans where he learned the trade. Or as Downbeat writes: ‘There is a laugh in the music that Fortner makes, with his uncomplicated charm and incredible technique, always brought with a pinch of unadulterated New Orleans showmanship.’