Sonny Fortune

Sonny Fortune
Sonny Fortune in Aoupril 2007
Background information
Born	(1939-05-19) May 19, 1939 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Origin	New York City
Genres	Soul jazz, jazz rock, jazz funk, modal jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, jazz fusion, jazz
Occupation(s)	Teacher, musician
Instrument(s)	Alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, clarinet
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Prestige, Strata-East, Horizon, Atlantic
Website	SonnyFortune.com/biopage.html

Sonny Fortune (born (1939-05-19)May 19, 1939) is a US jazz alto saxophonist and flautist. He also plays soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone and clarinet.

Biography

After moving to New York City in 1967 Fortune recorded and appeared live with drummer Elvin Jones's group. In 1968 he was a member of Mongo Santamaría's band. He subsequently performed with singer Leon Thomas, and with pianist McCoy Tyner (1971–73).

In 1974 Fortune replaced Dave Liebman in Miles Davis's ensemble, remaining until spring 1975, when he was succeeded by Sam Morrison. Fortune can be heard on the albums Big Fun, Get Up With It, Agharta and Pangaea, the last two recorded live in Japan.

Fortune joined Nat Adderley after his brief tenure with Davis, and then went on to form his own group in June 1975, recording two albums for the Horizon (A&M) label. During the 1990s, he recorded several acclaimed albums for the Blue Note label. He has also performed with Roy Brooks, Buddy Rich, George Benson, Rabih Abou Khalil, Roy Ayers, Oliver Nelson, Gary Bartz, Rashied Ali and Pharoah Sanders, as well as appearing on the live album The Atlantic Family Live at Montreux (1977).

Discography

As leader

• 1966: Trip on the Strip (co-lead Stan Hunter, Prestige Records)
• 1974: Long Before Our Mothers Cried (Strata-East Records)
• 1975: Awakening (Horizon Records)
• 1976: Waves of Dreams (Horizon)
• 1977: Serengeti Minstrel (Atlantic)
• 1978: Infinity Is (Atlantic)
• 1979: With Sound Reason (Atlantic)
• 1992: Laying It Down
• 1993: Monk's Mood
• 1994: Four in One
• 1995: A Better Understanding
• 1996: From Now On
• 2000: In the Spirit of John Coltrane
• 2003: Continuum
• 2007: You and the Night and the Music
• 2009: Last Night at Sweet Rhythm

As sideman

With Rabih Abou-Khalil

• Bukra (1988)
• Al-Jadida (1990)

With Nat Adderley

• On the Move (Theresa, 1983)
• Blue Autumn (Theresa, 1985)
• Autumn Leaves (Sweet Basil, 1990 [1991])
• Work Song: Live at Sweet Basil (Sweet Basil, 1990 [1993])

With Kenny Barron

• Innocence (Wolf, 1978)

With Gary Bartz

• Alto Memories (Verve, 1994)

With George Benson

• Tell It Like It Is (A&M/CTI, 1969)

With Miles Davis

• Get Up with It (Columbia, 1974)
• Big Fun (Columbia, 1975)
• Pangaea (Columbia, 1975)
• Agharta (Columbia, 1975)

With Dizzy Gillespie

• Closer to the Source (Atlantic, 1984)

With Elvin Jones

• Elvin Jones Jazz Machine Live at Pit Inn (Polydor (Japan), 1985)
• When I Was at Aso-Mountain (Enja, 1990)
• In Europe (Enja, 1991)
• It Don't Mean a Thing (Enja, 1993)

With Charles Mingus

• Three or Four Shades of Blues (Atlantic, 1977)

With Alphonse Mouzon

• The Essence of Mystery (Blue Note, 1972)

With Pharoah Sanders

• Izipho Zam (My Gifts) (Strata-East, 1969 [1973])

With Melvin Sparks

• Akilah! (Prestige, 1972)

With Leon Spencer

• Bad Walking Woman (Prestige, 1972)
• Where I'm Coming From (Prestige, 1973)

With Charles Sullivan

• Genesis (Strata-East, 1974)

With McCoy Tyner

• Sahara (Milestone, 1972)
• Song for My Lady (Milestone, 1973)

With Mal Waldron

• Crowd Scene (Soul Note, 1989)
• Where Are You? (Soul Note, 1989)

With Mongo Santamaría

• Stone Soul (1969)

Filmography

• Elvin Jones: Jazz Machine (2008) with Sonny Fortune, Ravi Coltrane, Willie Pickens and Chip Jackson
• Europafest: Jazz Highlights (2008) with Mike Stern, Sonny Fortune, Bob Berg, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, and more

External links

• Official website
• Sonny Fortune discography at Discogs
• Sonny Fortune statistics, tagging and previews at Last.FM