Returning to Spoleto after his acclaimed 2025 collaboration with Cécile McLorin Salvant and the Festival Orchestra, Sullivan Fortner is one of today’s most celebrated jazz pianists. The first jazz pianist to receive a Gilmore Award, the inaugural 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award, Fortner is a virtuoso solo artist, bandleader, composer, and McLorin’s primary collaborator. At Spoleto 2026, experience two programs: an intimate solo recital showcasing his improvisational brilliance, and a trio performance highlighting playful counterpoint and ensemble mastery. Don’t miss this rare chance to see a visionary musician at the height of his powers.

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Sullivan Fortner

College of Charleston

Pianist Sullivan Fortner, a 2024 Grammy Award winner seen on the Series in concerts with vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant and with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, makes his debut as a bandleader with his trio. Expect deeply soulful and inventive music, marked by Fortner’s signature blend of technical brilliance, emotional depth, and boundless creativity—qualities that piano luminary and album producer Fred Hersch describes as “technique always in the service of expression, joy and humor, fearlessness and pianistic mastery.”

Sullivan Fortner Trio

Harvard University

Known to Spivey Hall" class="css-u850">Spivey Hall audiences as the brilliant collaborator with Cécile Mclorin Salvant" class="css-u850">Cécile McLorin Salvant" class="css-u850">Cécile McLorin Salvant, Sullivan Fortner returns with his 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 a key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window, alongside Cécile McLorin Salvant. In 2024, Sullivan and Cécile delighted a sold-out crowd at Spivey Hall, and we look forward to exploring more of this talented artist’s work

Tyrone Allen

Events

Past events

5 - 6 Jun, 2026

Sullivan Fortner · Spoleto Festival USA

Mar 8, 2026

Sullivan Fortner Trio · Celebrity Series of Boston

About

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