23/24 Season Tickets On Sale Now! LEARN MORE
Your Cart UMS
Friday, March 22, 2024 7:30 PM // Rackham Auditorium

Sullivan Fortner, piano
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet

Performance
 

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Sullivan Fortner join forces for a concert at the intersection of jazz and Western European chamber music.

During his 15-year career, Akinmusire has paradoxically situated himself in both the center and the periphery of jazz, most recently emerging in both classical and hip-hop circles. He masterfully weaves inspiration from other genres, arts, and life in general into compositions that are as poetic and graceful as they are bold and unflinching. Sullivan Fortner, who has performed in Hill Auditorium as part of Joshua Redman’s MoodSwing Reunion tour (filling in for Brad Mehldau) and with Cécile McLorin Salvant, has been stretching his deep-rooted talents as a pianist for the past decade.

The longtime collaborators are preparing a concert program unique to UMS that will overlap the sonic exploration of composers and textures related to both chamber music and creative improvisation. Their duet program will consist of songs and materials inspired by the collaboration between Louis Armstrong and Earl “Fatha” Hines.

Meet the Artists

Sullivan Fortner
Sullivan Fortner
piano
Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpet

Thank You to Our Sponsors

SUPPORTING SPONSOR

  • Anthony Reffells

Order 2023/24 Season Tickets

Sullivan Fortner, piano
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet

Rackham Auditorium
Season ticket packages are on sale now.
Individual event tickets go on sale Aug 1.

CHOOSE A PERFORMANCE:

Order 2023/24 Season Tickets Or call the ticket office at 734-764-2538
3/22/24 7:30 PM
Rackham Auditorium

Sullivan Fortner, piano
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet

Performance
Order 2023/24 Season Tickets
Season ticket packages are on sale now.
Individual event tickets go on sale Aug 1.

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Sullivan Fortner join forces for a concert at the intersection of jazz and Western European chamber music.

During his 15-year career, Akinmusire has paradoxically situated himself in both the center and the periphery of jazz, most recently emerging in both classical and hip-hop circles. He masterfully weaves inspiration from other genres, arts, and life in general into compositions that are as poetic and graceful as they are bold and unflinching. Sullivan Fortner, who has performed in Hill Auditorium as part of Joshua Redman’s MoodSwing Reunion tour (filling in for Brad Mehldau) and with Cécile McLorin Salvant, has been stretching his deep-rooted talents as a pianist for the past decade.

The longtime collaborators are preparing a concert program unique to UMS that will overlap the sonic exploration of composers and textures related to both chamber music and creative improvisation. Their duet program will consist of songs and materials inspired by the collaboration between Louis Armstrong and Earl “Fatha” Hines.

Buy Tickets

Sullivan Fortner, piano
Ambrose Akinmusire, trumpet

Rackham Auditorium
Season ticket packages are on sale now.
Individual event tickets go on sale Aug 1.

CHOOSE A PERFORMANCE:

Order 2023/24 Season Tickets

Or call the ticket office at 734-764-2538

Meet the Artists

Sullivan Fortner
Sullivan Fortner
piano
Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpet

Thank You to Our Sponsors

SUPPORTING SPONSOR

  • Anthony Reffells
Sullivan Fortner
Sullivan Fortner
piano

For the past decade, Sullivan Fortner has been stretching deep-rooted talents as a pianist, composer, band leader and uncompromising individualist. The GRAMMY Award-winning artist out of New Orleans received international praise as both key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window, alongside Cecile McLorin Salvant. As a solo leader, he has released Moments Preserved and Aria to critical acclaim.

In addition to associations with such diverse voices as Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Diane Reeves, Etienne Charles, and John Scofield, Fortner’s frequent and longtime collaborators have included Ambrose Akinmusire, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stefon Harris, Kassa Overall, Tivon Pennicott, Peter Bernstein, Nicholas Payton, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Fred Hersch, and the late Roy Hargrove. Recent collaborations include GRAMMY-nominated releases Dear Love (Empress Legacy) and Generations from leaders Jazzmeia Horn and The Baylor Project, respectively.

A highly-sought improviser, Fortner has performed across the country and throughout the world at such cultural institutions as Snug Harbor, New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Lorraine’s and The Jazz Playhouse in New Orleans, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Standard and Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. He’s appeared at celebrated festivals, including Newport, Monterey, Discover, Tri-C, and Gillmore Keyboard, among others. In 2019, Fortner brought his band to the historic Village Vanguard for a week-long engagement he would reprise in 2020 as a virtual performance during lockdown. His notable studio contributions include work on Etienne Charles’s Kaiso (Culture Shock, 2011), Donald Harrison’s Quantum Leap (FOMP, 2010), and Theo Croker’s The Fundamentals (Left Sided Music, 2007).

Playing solo or leading an orchestra, Fortner engages harmony and rhythmic ideas through curiosity and clarity. Within phrases, he finds universes, and listeners often hear how he’s moved by each note he explores. Coming up in New Orleans, Fortner began playing piano at age 7, following a storied lineage of improvisers, masters of time, and every iteration of the blues. He earned his Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory and Master of Music in Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music (MSM). A champion of mentorship, Fortner has offered masterclasses at MSM, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), Purdue University, Lafayette Summer Music Workshop, Belmont University, and Oberlin Conservatory where he held a faculty position.

Pulling distinct elements from different eras, Fortner’s artistry preserves the tradition and evolves the sound. He seeks connections among different musical styles that are at once deeply soulful and wildly inventive. Both his works and his insights have been featured in culturally iconic publications, from The New York Times to The Root. Accolades include the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship awarded by the American Pianists Association, Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, and, in 2020, the prestigious Shifting Foundation Grant for artistic career development.

Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpet

During his 15-year career, Ambrose Akinmusire has paradoxically situated himself in both the center and the periphery of jazz, most recently emerging in classical and hip-hop circles. He’s on a perpetual quest for new paradigms, masterfully weaving inspiration from other genres, arts, and life in general into compositions that are as poetic and graceful as they are bold and unflinching.

His unorthodox approach to sound and composition makes him a regular on critics’ polls and has earned him grants and commissions from the Doris Duke Foundation, the MAP Fund, the Kennedy Center, The Berlin Jazz Festival, and the Monterey Jazz. While Akinmusire continues to garner accolades, his reach is always beyond—himself, his instrument, genre, form, preconceived notions, and anything else imposing limitations.

Motivated primarily by the spiritual and practical value of art, Akinmusire wants to remove the wall of erudition surrounding his music. He aspires to create richly textured emotional landscapes that tell the stories of the community, record the time, and change the standard. While committed to continuing the lineage of black invention and innovation, he manages to honor tradition without being stifled by it.

Akinmusire is a rigorous practitioner with an uncompromising dedication to creation. “I’ve learned to accept the consequences of believing in invention and creativity. You’re gonna be misunderstood. But my horse blinders have gotten a lot longer and lot thicker over the years.”

Love great music, theater, and dance?

Love great music, theater, and dance?

Surely your inbox has room for one more email... Sign up for notifications on new digital and live performances, plus season updates.

Thanks! We'll keep you updated.