Sonny Fortune

Sonny Fortune (born May 19, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and flautist. He also plays soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone and clarinet.

Biography
After moving to New York City in 1967 he recorded and appeared live with drummer Elvin Jones's group. In 1968 he was a member of Mongo Santamaría's band. He subsequently performed with singer Leon Thomas, and with pianist McCoy Tyner (1971–73).

In 1974 he replaced Dave Liebman in Miles Davis's ensemble, remaining until spring 1975, when he was succeeded by Sam Morrison. Fortune can be heard on the albums Big Fun, Get Up With It, Agharta and Pangaea, the last two recorded live in Japan.

He joined Adderley's brother, Nat, after his brief tenure with Davis, and then went on to form his own group in June 1975, recording two albums for the A&M Horizon label. During the 1990s, he recorded several acclaimed albums for the Blue Note label. He has also performed with Roy Brooks, Buddy Rich, George Benson, Rabih Abou Khalil, Roy Ayers, Oliver Nelson, Gary Bartz, Rashied Ali and Pharoah Sanders, as well as appearing on the live album The Atlantic Family Live at Montreux (1977).

As leader

 * 1974: Long Before Our Mothers Cried (Strata-East Records)
 * 1975: Awakening (A&M/Horizon Records)
 * 1976: Waves of Dreams (A&M/Horizon)
 * 1977: Serengeti Minstrel
 * 1978: Infinity Is
 * 1979: With Sound Reason
 * 1992: Laying It Down
 * 1993: Monk's Mood
 * 1994: Four In One
 * 1995: A Better Understanding
 * 1996: From Now On
 * 2000: In the Spirit of John Coltrane
 * 2003: Continuum
 * 2007: ''You And The Night And The Music
 * 2009: Last Night at Sweet Rhythm

As sideman
With Rabih Abou-Khalil With Gary Bartz With George Benson With Miles Davis With Dizzy Gillespie With Elvin Jones With Alphonse Mouzon With Melvin Sparks With McCoy Tyner With Mal Waldron
 * Bukra (1988)
 * Al-Jadida (1990)
 * Alto Memories (Verve, 1994)
 * Tell It Like It Is (A&M/CTI, 1969)
 * Get Up with It (1974)
 * Big Fun (1975)
 * Pangaea (1975)
 * Agharta (1975)
 * Closer to the Source (Atlantic, 1984)
 * 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)
 * The Essence of Mystery (1972)
 * Akilah! (Prestige, 1972)
 * Sahara (1972)
 * Song for My Lady (1973)
 * Crowd Scene (Soul Note, 1989)
 * Where Are You? (Soul Note, 1989)

Filmography

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