Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Pianist Sullivan Fortner’s burgeoning reputation rests on the filigree accompaniment and show-stopping highlights that he provided, playing alongside such adventurous spirits as late trumpeter Roy Hargrove and vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. And it was his sparse lines and shaded voicings fitting so perfectly with Samara Joy’s vocals that won their recent cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” the award for Best Jazz Performance at this month’s Grammys.Southern Nights, Fortner’s fifth album as a leader, finds the New Orleans-raised pianist crafting disparate influences into a set laden with emotional warmth. Recorded in 2023, the unedited studio session captures a handpicked trio fresh from a week’s residency at New York’s Village Vanguard. Drummer Marcus Gilmore and the experienced Peter Washington on double bass are on song and the music is bold and free-flowing.The programme opens with Fortner shaping the sensuous contours of New Orleans rhythm into odd angles and intriguing shapes on a dazzling cover of Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights”. Here, Toussaint’s winsome melody comes with shimmers of sound conjured from the piano’s wires, and Fortner’s melodic invention never lets up. A fast, swinging Cole Porter’s “I Love You” comes next, its melody cohering suddenly out of a miasma of abstract solo piano. And then the album’s only original, the short and spiky “9 Bar Tune”. The album’s ballad, written by mentor Bill Lee, gets to the essence of its title “Again, Never” with sparse lines and a solo for double bass. In contrast, “Discovery”, a piece by Lee’s sister Consuela, has sharp edges, supple rhythms and hints of abstraction. The swaying rhythms of “Tres Palabras”, famously sung by Nat King Cole, deliver a moody highlight mid set.Three compositions, referencing the leader’s roots in small group modern jazz, showcase Fortner’s all-round technique and creative grip. “Waltz for Monk”, by fellow pianist Donald Brown, mixes discordance with lilt, Clifford Brown’s “Daahoud” opens with a feature for drums and “Organ Grinder” by trumpeter Woody Shaw closes the set with a beguiling riff.★★★★☆‘Southern Nights’ is released by Artwork Records
