Sonny Fortune by Dmitry Scherbie

After a brief stint with Elvin Jones and Frank Foster, Fortune joined Mongo Santamaria's group, with whom he remained for over 2 years. He then joining McCoy Tyner with whom he played for 2 1/2 years. Fortune then went on to work independently with his own ensemble and with drummer Buddy Rich, and was featured on the live LP recorded at Rich's Manhattan nightspot, Buddy's Place. In September 1974, Miles Davis offered Sonny a job in his fusion group. Fortune had previously turned down the same offer to stay with Tyner, but now he eagerly accepted the opportunity to move on to something completely new. Fortune stayed with Miles for a year, recording four LPs, Big Fun, Agartha, Pangaea and Get Up With It.

Over the years Sonny has also recorded with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Elvin Jones, Oliver Nelson, George Benson and Nat Adderly, to name a few. In June 1975 Sonny formed his own group, marking his debut as a leader with two critically-acclaimed LPs for A&M Horizon, Awakening and Waves of Dreams. He's had many albums released since then including three Blue Note CD's: Four In One, his album of the music of Thelonious Monk; A Better Understanding was released September of 1995; and From Now On, was released in September 1996. In addition to leading his own quartet, the following 10 years saw Sonny playing with the Nat Adderly Quartet and as a featured soloist with the Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. In 1987-88 he was part of the Coltrane Legacy Band that also featured McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Reggie Workman. More than a legacy, Sonny is still here and blowing hard.

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