Sullivan Joseph Fortner was born on December 29,1986 and is an American jazz pianist.
12 Facts About Sullivan Fortner
1.
2.
Sullivan Fortner has received two Grammy Awards, including Best Jazz Performance for his collaboration with Samara Joy on the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me".
3.
Sullivan Fortner started playing the piano from the age of four.
4.
Sullivan Fortner was inspired to play by seeing a woman playing the organ in a local church.
5.
Sullivan Fortner's mother was the choir director of a Baptist church; he began playing the organ there at the age of seven.
6.
In 2009, Sullivan Fortner was part of vibraphonist Stefon Harris' band, including for a tour of Europe.
7.
Sullivan Fortner was pianist in trumpeter Roy Hargrove's quintet from 2010 to 2017.
8.
Sullivan Fortner became strongly influenced by fellow pianist Barry Harris from 2011, when he realised that his knowledge of the music was too shallow.
9.
Sullivan Fortner recorded with the Hargrove band's saxophonist, Justin Robinson, in 2013.
10.
In 2015, Sullivan Fortner was the winner of the American Piano Awards Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz, a prize that consists of "$50,000, the opportunity to record for Mack Avenue Records, and two years of professional career services and development".
11.
In early 2015, Sullivan Fortner's quartet contained saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, bassist Ameen Saleem and drummer Jeremy "Bean" Clemons.
12.
Sullivan Fortner played on some of the tracks that formed Paul Simon's album In the Blue Light.