Southern Nights

現代ジャズシーンの最重要ピアニストの一人であるサリヴァン・フォートナーが2025年に発表したアルバム『Southern Nights』。彼のルーツであるニューオーリンズへの深い愛と、ピアノトリオによる高度な即興演奏の妙が融合した傑作。表題曲「Southern Nights」は、ニューオーリンズのR&B・ポップス界の巨星であるアラン・トゥーサンが1975年に発表した名曲のカバー。

In July 2023, New Orleans-born pianist and bandleader Sullivan Fortner played a weeklong residency at the Village Vanguard with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Before that series of gigs, Washington and Gilmore had worked with Fortner separately but had never met. Their chemistry on the bandstand proved infectious for audiences and the musicians. Fortner booked studio time to try and catch lightning in a bottle. Before playing Saturday night, the trio entered Sear Sound on 48th Street and cut this set. The joyous spirit of New Orleans music is at the heart of this recording. Opener "Southern Nights," composed by Crescent Citys patron saint Allen Toussaint, was a hit for Glen Campbell in 1970 and the title track of Toussaints glorious 1975 Warner Bros. album. This version is airy and mimics Toussaints original with an elliptical piano intro before setting its lithe, gospelized lope at the forefront. Washington and Gilmore grab on and swing the melody before adding a funky second-line twist. One can hear the NOLA piano lineage from Huey Smith and Professor Longhair to Dr. John and James Booker in Fortners playing. Its followed by Cole Porters "I Love You," which commences with warm yet dissonant piano for a full minute before the rhythm section enters. They follow Fortners feints, fills, accents (on both hands), and a smoking solo. On the remainder of the album, the pianist focuses on tunes that figure into his musical iconography, not standards. "9 Bar Tune," the lone original, is harmonically rich as the pianist and his trio knottily move across vanguard post-bop to swinging blues and soulful groove as if leading a parade. Iconic Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farres is represented by the haunting bolero "Tres Palabras," which includes a show-stopping bass solo from Washington. On Donald Browns "Waltz for Monk," Fortner takes the building blocks of the harmony, juxtaposes his own, and breaks them up as the rhythm section buoys him with bluesy swing. There are a pair of tunes here that came from Spike Lees family: His father Bills "Again, Never" illustrates Fortners endless fascination with ballads. He briefly channels "My Funny Valentine" in the intro before the trio begins getting inside its lyrics layer by layer. They also perform "Discovery" by Consuela Lee, the directors aunt. It opens with a solo piano before entering hard bop terrain. Fortners pianism underscores the Afro-Latin rhythmic tinge with Gilmores syncopation and breaks. The last two tunes, Clifford Browns "Daahoud" and Woody Shaws "Organ Grinder," are advanced jazz compositions. The former offers a seamless meld of hard bop, NOLA R&B, and chromatic post-bop. On the latter, Fortner illustrates Shaws compositional savvy as the trio juxtaposes bebop with modal dissonance and lyricism under strategically syncopated swing. As evidenced by Southern Nights, Fortners trio has fully arrived. Heres hoping they record again and tour, as their creative language is seemingly limitless. ~ Thom Jurek