With an auspicious name like Sonny Fortune, could there be any doubt that this man would find success and fulfillment down whatever path he chose to follow in life. Fortune-ately for jazz lovers, he focused his talent and energy on the saxophone.
Fortune's good fortune began at the beguine-ing; he was born at the right time, May 19, 1939, and at the right place, Philadelphia. While the City of Brotherly Love has been considered a second-tier jazz city by some, Philly indisputably gave birth to and nurtured a long list of great musicians , many of whom went on to gain wider recognition after moving to New York.
In conversation with Fortune, AAJ contributor Chuck Koton traces the saxophonist's inevitable path from growing up in Philadelphia to McCoy Tyner and Miles Davis sideman and, finally, his emergence as a powerful and interpretive leader. Check out Sonny Fortune: Thank God For That Day Job at AAJ today!
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