Thursday, July 5, 2012

Sonnys in Jazz

There is a peculiar phenomenon among jazz musicians, especially saxophonists. Players like William Greer, Conrad Clark, Edward Stitt, and Cornelius Fortune share a commonality. They are a fraction of the community of jazz musicians nicknamed 'Sonny.' Saxophone giants include Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Criss, Sonny Simmons, Sonny Red, Herman "Sonny" Blount (Sun Ra), and the Coltrane-inspired Sonny Fortune. Fortune joined McCoy Tyner's group for over two years. With Fortune's contributions on Tyner's albums Sahara (1972), Song For My Lady (1973), and Song of the New World (1973), Fortune cemented his reputation as an instrumental innovator on alto and soprano saxophones. Come see Sonny Fortune, a living legend among nicknamed greats, at Blue Note on Monday, July 9 at 8 & 10:30pm.


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