Events

Sullivan Fortner, piano

Tyrone Allen II, double bass

Kayvon Gordon, drums

 

Born and raised in New Orleans, two-time GRAMMY Award winner Sullivan Fortner is one of today’s most acclaimed jazz pianists, known for blending tradition with bold innovation in his contemporary sound.

 

GRAMMY Award-winning pianist Sullivan Fortner has issued Aria (2015); Moments Preserved (2018); Solo Game (2024), which earned a GRAMMY nomination and 4-star reviews in DownBeat and France’s Telerama Magazine; and Southern Nights (2025) which landed Fortner on the February cover of DownBeat.

 

Recipient of the 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award and winner of the 2024 DownBeat Critics Poll for Rising Star Jazz Group: Sullivan Fortner Trio, the New Orleans native has worked with Wynton Marsalis, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Paul Simon, Diane Reeves, Etienne Charles and John Scofield, Ambrose Akinmusire, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stefon Harris, Kassa Overall, Tivon Pennicott, Peter Bernstein, Nicholas Payton, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz, Chief Adjuah and Roy Hargrove.

 

His works and insights have been featured in culture drivers from The New York Times to The Root. Further accolades include the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship, Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, the Shifting Foundation Grant and the Western Jazz Presenters Grant.

 

Joining him are top-tier bassist and electric bassist Tyrone Allen II and Detroit-born drummer Kayvon Gordon.

 

Tyrone Allen II has played alongside giants such as Ralph Peterson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Gerald Clayton, Jazzmeia Horn, and Jerry Bergonzi, and also performs in the award-winning Broadway musical Moulin Rouge.

 

Kayvon Gordon, even before studying at the University of Michigan, was mentored as a child by legendary trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. He has shared the stage with artists like Ravi Coltrane, Robert Hurst, JD Allen, and others. Now based in New York, his music blends the forward-looking spirit of contemporary jazz with the deep tradition of Detroit’s jazz legacy.

 

These three outstanding American musicians, with remarkable musical instincts, are preparing a unique Wednesday at Lisinski concert — a vibrant mix of classical counterpoint and soulful blues, playful ragtime, irresistible rhythms, and imaginative, untamed improvisation that will delight and entertain listeners. As Fortner himself puts it:

 

"The goal is to start to break the barriers of genre. I’m trying to dispel all of these rules and say, 'Look at these songs as just songs and look at music as just music. Get your hands dirty with deconstructing things, with reconstructing things.' We definitely have a good time with it!"