Sonny Fortune

Cornelius "Sonny" Fortune (May 19, 1939^[1] – October 25, 2018)^[2] was an American jazz saxophonist. He played soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute.

Biography

He was born in

Fortune died of a stroke at the age of 79 in October 2018.[2]

Discography

As leader

• 1966: Trip on the Strip with Stan Hunter (Prestige)
• 1974: Long Before Our Mothers Cried (Strata-East)
• 1975: Awakening (Horizon)
• 1976: Waves of Dreams (Horizon)
• 1977: Serengeti Minstrel (Atlantic)
• 1978: Infinity Is (Atlantic)
• 1979: With Sound Reason (Atlantic)
• 1984: Laying It Down (Konnex)
• 1987: Invitation (WhyNot)
• 1991: It Ain't What It Was (Konnex)
• 1993: Monk's Mood (Konnex)
• 1994: Four in One (Blue Note)
• 1995: A Better Understanding (Blue Note)
• 1996: From Now On (Blue Note)
• 2000: In the Spirit of John Coltrane (Shanachie)
• 2003: Continuum (Sound Reason)
• 2007: You and the Night and the Music (18th & Vine)
• 2009: Last Night at Sweet Rhythm (Sound Reason)

As sideman

With Rabih Abou-Khalil

• Bukra (MMP, 1988)
• Al-Jadida (Enja, 1990)

With Nat Adderley

• On the Move (Theresa, 1983)
• Blue Autumn (Theresa, 1985)
• Autumn Leaves (Sweet Basil, 1990 [1991])
• Work Song: Live at Sweet Basil (Sweet Basil, 1990 [1993])

With Billy Bang

• Vietnam: The Aftermath (Justin Time, 2001)

With Kenny Barron

• Innocence (Wolf, 1978)

With Gary Bartz

• Alto Memories (Verve, 1994)

With George Benson

• Tell It Like It Is (A&M/CTI, 1969)

With Miles Davis

• Big Fun (Columbia, 1974)
• Get Up with It (Columbia, 1974)
• Agharta (Columbia, 1975)
• Pangaea (Columbia, 1976)

With Dizzy Gillespie

• Closer to the Source (Atlantic, 1984)

With Elvin Jones

• Elvin Jones Jazz Machine Live at Pit Inn (Polydor (Japan), 1985)
• When I Was at Aso-Mountain (Enja, 1990)
• In Europe (Enja, 1991)
• It Don't Mean a Thing (Enja, 1993)

With Charles Mingus

• Three or Four Shades of Blues (Atlantic, 1977)

With Alphonse Mouzon

• The Essence of Mystery (Blue Note, 1972)

With Pharoah Sanders

• Izipho Zam (My Gifts) (Strata-East, 1969 [1973])

With Melvin Sparks

• Akilah! (Prestige, 1972)

With Leon Spencer

• Bad Walking Woman (Prestige, 1972)
• Where I'm Coming From (Prestige, 1973)

With Charles Sullivan

• Genesis (Strata-East, 1974)

With McCoy Tyner

• Sahara (Milestone, 1972)
• Song for My Lady (Milestone, 1973)

With Mal Waldron

• Crowd Scene (Soul Note, 1989)
• Where Are You? (Soul Note, 1989)

With Mongo Santamaría

• Stone Soul (1969)

Filmography

• Elvin Jones: Jazz Machine (2008) with Ravi Coltrane, Willie Pickens and Chip Jackson
• Europafest: Jazz Highlights (2008) with Mike Stern, Bob Berg, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, John Zorn, Bill Frisell

References

External links

• Official website
• Sonny Fortune's Page at Wide Hive Records
• Entry at discogs.com
• Sonny Fortune at
  AllMusic