Sullivan Fortner Trio

Before the mighty Sullivan Fortner Trio could even announce their debut album, let alone release it, they’d already claimed one of jazz’s most coveted prizes: DownBeat’s 2024 Rising Star Jazz Group award. To be clear, Fortner’s star has been blazing for nearly two decades, and his recent recognition receiving the 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award only reaffirms his stature among the leading voices of his generation. A New Orleans native, Fortner was recording with the likes of Theo Croker and Donald Harrison just after turning 20, and soon began a long run with Roy Hargrove. A decade ago, he launched a continuing creative partnership with Cécile McLorin Salvant, their musical chemistry helping to make her albums modern high-water marks of jazz. Around the same time, he signed with Impulse Records, where his athletic, endlessly melodic playing became instantly recognizable no matter the lineup.

But Fortner has never seemed to have so much fun or space to explore as with his new Trio, alongside drummer Kayvon Gordon and the bassist that Gordon picked, Tyrone Allen. “I’m very grueling because I always change things,” Fortner told DownBeat when the group won, “but that leaves a lot of wiggle room for things to happen.” It does not look grueling onstage. Even when the tempos are relentless or the tunes are new or the melodic twists are complex, Allen, Gordon, and Fortner smile and laugh as they play, as though they can’t believe they found this level of chemistry and communication in four years. Fortner is a clever writer, shaping songs that pull out the best of this band—a melodic and rhythmic interplay that is as precise as a machine and as stunning as a human highlight reel.