Sonny Fortune

American jazz saxophonist (1939–2018)

Sonny Fortune
Sonny Fortune, April 2007
Background information
Birth name	Cornelius Fortune
Born	(1939-05-19)May 19, 1939 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S
Died	October 25, 2018(2018-10-25) (aged 79) New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, free jazz, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Saxophone, flute, clarinet
Years active	1966–2018
Labels	Prestige, Strata-East, Horizon, Atlantic, Blue Note

Musical artist

Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939^[1] – October 25, 2018)^[2] was an American jazz saxophonist. He played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute.

Biography

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.^[1] After moving to New York City in 1967, Fortune recorded and appeared live with drummer Elvin Jones's group.^[1] In 1968, he was a member of Mongo Santamaría's band.^[1] He performed with singer Leon Thomas, and with pianist McCoy Tyner (1971–73).^[1] In 1974, Fortune replaced Dave Liebman in Miles Davis's ensemble, remaining until spring 1975,^[1] 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.^[3]

Fortune joined Nat Adderley after his brief tenure with Davis, then formed his own group in June 1975, recording two albums for the Horizon Records. During the 1990s, he recorded several albums for Blue Note. 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).^[3]

Fortune died of a stroke at the age of 79 in October 2018.^[2]

Discography

As leader

1966: Trip on the Strip with Stan Hunter (Prestige)
1974: Long Before Our Mothers Cried (Strata-East)
1975: Awakening (Horizon)
1976: Waves of Dreams (Horizon)
1977: Serengeti Minstrel (Atlantic)
1978: Infinity Is (Atlantic)
1979: With Sound Reason (Atlantic)
1984: Laying It Down (Konnex)
1987: Invitation (WhyNot)
1991: It Ain't What It Was (Konnex)
1993: Monk's Mood (Konnex)
1994: Four in One (Blue Note)
1995: A Better Understanding (Blue Note)
1996: From Now On (Blue Note)
2000: In the Spirit of John Coltrane (Shanachie)
2003: Continuum (Sound Reason)
2007: You and the Night and the Music (18th & Vine)
2009: Last Night at Sweet Rhythm (Sound Reason)

As sideman

With Rabih Abou-Khalil

Bukra (MMP, 1988)
Al-Jadida (Enja, 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 Billy Bang

Vietnam: The Aftermath (Justin Time, 2001)

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

Big Fun (Columbia, 1974)
Get Up with It (Columbia, 1974)
Agharta (Columbia, 1975)
Pangaea (Columbia, 1976)

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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 895. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
^ ^a ^b "Sonny Fortune, Stalwart Saxophonist Of New York, Dies At 79". Npr.org. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Collar. "Sonny Fortune". AllMusic. Retrieved June 6, 2017.