Biography
Saxophonist Sonny Fortune, a versatile multi-reedist fluent on flute as well, emerged in the 1970s as a harmonically assertive force within trumpeter Miles Davis’s fusion ensembles. Philadelphia-born in 1939, he studied at the Wurlitzer and Granoff schools and spent his teenage years gigging with area R&B outfits. Although he absorbed the approaches of Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane, Fortune waited until age eighteen to commit fully to a professional music life. Relocating to New York City in 1967, he quickly secured engagements alongside drummer Elvin Jones and percussionist Mongo Santamaria, remaining with the latter for two years.
Around 1970 pianist McCoy Tyner invited Fortune into his band, and the saxophonist stayed from 1971 through 1973. In that period he also recorded with drummer Buddy Rich and declined an early offer to join Miles Davis’s fusion project, preferring to remain with Tyner. Fortune reversed that decision in 1974, stepping in for saxophonist David Liebman; although his tenure lasted only a year, he contributed to the Davis albums Big Fun, Get Up with It, Agharta, and Pangaea.
In 1975 Fortune launched his own ensemble and issued a series of recordings through the rest of the decade, among them Awakening, Serengeti Minstrel (featuring trumpeter Woody Shaw), and Waves of Dreams. He also collaborated during those years with cornetist Nat Adderley and the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His output as a leader slowed in the 1980s, yet he continued performing and, in 1987, reunited with Tyner, Jones, and bassist Reggie Workman in the Coltrane Legacy Band.
Fortune’s solo career regained momentum in the 1990s with three well-received Blue Note releases: Four in One, A Better Understanding, and From Now On. Subsequent years brought further recordings, including the 2000 tribute In the Spirit of John Coltrane, Continuum, the 2007 standards collection You and the Night and the Music, and the 2009 live set Last Night at Sweet Rhythm. On October 25, 2018, Fortune died in Manhattan at age 79 from complications following a stroke.
Around 1970 pianist McCoy Tyner invited Fortune into his band, and the saxophonist stayed from 1971 through 1973. In that period he also recorded with drummer Buddy Rich and declined an early offer to join Miles Davis’s fusion project, preferring to remain with Tyner. Fortune reversed that decision in 1974, stepping in for saxophonist David Liebman; although his tenure lasted only a year, he contributed to the Davis albums Big Fun, Get Up with It, Agharta, and Pangaea.
In 1975 Fortune launched his own ensemble and issued a series of recordings through the rest of the decade, among them Awakening, Serengeti Minstrel (featuring trumpeter Woody Shaw), and Waves of Dreams. He also collaborated during those years with cornetist Nat Adderley and the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. His output as a leader slowed in the 1980s, yet he continued performing and, in 1987, reunited with Tyner, Jones, and bassist Reggie Workman in the Coltrane Legacy Band.
Fortune’s solo career regained momentum in the 1990s with three well-received Blue Note releases: Four in One, A Better Understanding, and From Now On. Subsequent years brought further recordings, including the 2000 tribute In the Spirit of John Coltrane, Continuum, the 2007 standards collection You and the Night and the Music, and the 2009 live set Last Night at Sweet Rhythm. On October 25, 2018, Fortune died in Manhattan at age 79 from complications following a stroke.
Albums
