Events

Born and raised in New Orleans, a world-renowned jazz pianist, composer, improviser, multiple Grammy winner - and this year, right now! - Sullivan Fortner is one of the most recognizable jazz pianists of today, whose contemporary sound combines tradition and bold innovation.

Sullivan Fortner won his latest Grammy award in the category of best instrumental jazz album for the album Sullivan Fortner feat Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore – Southern Nights. He also left behind the album of legends Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade – Trilogy 3 (Live), and the competition also included Branford Marsalis Quartet – Belonging, John Patitucci feat Chris Potter & Brian Blade – Spirit Fall and Yellowjackets – Fasten Up!

In the Small Hall Lisinski, the famous Sullivan Fortner will perform with his Trio, which includes double bassist and bass guitarist Tyrone Allen II and drummer Kayvon Gordon. The great musicians will conclude their mini-European tour in Zagreb, which includes Genk, Paris, Belgium, and Fribourg and Basel, Switzerland.

For more than a decade, Sullivan Fortner has been delighted as a jazz pianist, composer, improviser, and bandleader. He is also the recipient of the 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award.

Playing solo or leading an orchestra, Fortner engages with harmony and rhythmic ideas with curiosity, but also clarity of expression. His art preserves tradition and evolves sound. He seeks connections between different musical styles that delve deep into the soul and are highly inventive.

Born in New Orleans, he began playing the piano at the age of seven, earning a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music degree in jazz performance from the Manhattan School of Music (MSM). He has given master classes at MSM, the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), Purdue University, Lafayette Summer Music Workshop, Belmont University, and Oberlin Conservatory.

As a soloist, he has released the albums Aria (2015); Moments Preserved (2018); Solo Game (2024), which earned four stars in DownBeat and the French magazine Telerama; and Southern Nights (2025), which landed Fortner on the cover of DownBeat. This prolific artist has enjoyed creative collaborations with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Diane Reeves, Etienne Charles, John Scofield, and other greats. Among many other major accolades, before his most recent Grammy, Sullivan Fortner won the award for Best Jazz Performance in 2025, for Samara Joy's Twinkle Twinkle Little Me, and the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2019 with Cécile McLorin Salvant, for her acclaimed album The Window, on which he is both a key performer and producer.

Fortner also won Grammys for his 2023 release Solo Game and the provocative arrangement of Optimistic Voices/No Love Dying, from Salvant's 2022 release Ghost Song. Students get a 20% discount on Lisinski Wednesday concerts!