Sullivan Fortner at Soul Mama

“I’m not sure what I’m going to play” were the opening remarks from the Grammy award-winning pianist as he took his seat for his penultimate performance on a solo tour of Europe at Soul Mama’s. Sullivan Fortner has been one of the most influential collaborative pianists on the global jazz scene for over a decade, drawing from and evolving the tradition with playing that is virtuosic, wildly inventive and deeply soulful. As a solo player, it is his kindness and generosity of spirit that envelopes the audience, inviting them on a journey through an eclectic collection of material ranging from “Earth Wind and Fire” to Faure.

He began with a startlingly intimate reharmonization of Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady” before moving seamlessly to virtuosic and vibrant stride with the early-jazz Jelly Roll Morton classic “Grandpa’s Spells”. His work as a collaborative composer with Cecile McClorin Salvant was interwoven with his solo composition, with a medley of “A Clef” (The Window) and an acoustic version of “Snakes and Ladders” (Solo Game) that seemed to subtly move into darker and deeper territory, reminiscent of the way a composer like “Dvorak” moves between moods. A highlight of the first set was a joyful rendition of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Desafinado”. You’d be forgiven if at times you forgot you were witnessing just one man and one piano – he evoked almost orchestral timbres through the subtly changing voices between hands, the playing of piano strings and the myriads of textures pulled out of a single instrument. Reminiscing of the years spent playing with the Roy Hargrove quintet, the set closed with a theatrical rendition of “Strasbourg St Denis”.

During the break, I had the joy of speaking briefly with Fortner – a remarkably humble figure. When asked about the second set, he again remarked that he was still considering what to play and even asked me if I had suggestions – without a beat I asked if he could play “Detour Ahead”. The opportunity to make requests of grammy winning artists is rare to say the least! He seemed unsure if he knew the tune well enough but welcomed an opportunity for spontaneity with the revelry of a true improviser – I think I may have even caught him having a brief listen to the tune before heading out for the second set. He opened with another original composition “It’s a Game”, a tune with a playfulness of spirit – one hand on the strings, one hand on the piano bringing out the pulsating rhythm and overlapping textures of the record from which the tune takes its name; “Solo Game”.

Another of the many highlights was a rendition of Faure’s “Au Bord De L’eau” for voice and piano, which brought out the chromaticism of the original in a way that truly exemplified the relationship between French Art Song and jazz music, one that he has so often explored in his work with Cecile McClorin Salvant. But it was with Detour Ahead that the audience found themselves truly transported away from the world in the way that only music can. It was perhaps, the greatest and most heartfelt rendition of this tune that I have ever witnessed live – at the end of which, Fortner hugged himself on the piano stool, with the audience holding silence as if to extend this moment for as long as they could. How surreal an experience, and how fortunate, to witness perhaps the greatest jazz pianist of a generation on a Thursday evening in Stratford.