NYC jazz notes (8)

From way up in the Bronx (Woodlawn Cemetery) during a scorching hot day, call into our Midtown Manhattan hotel (quick shower and change) and out to an evening concert on the Hudson River, W 13th St. Getting across town on the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) subway system isn't easy. It took a while. Eventually we found ourselves on West 13th, let's keep heading west. Eight in the evening, darkness descended, twinkling lights from towering skyscrapers illuminating a shimmering Hudson River. Pier 55 our destination...there it is!

Little Island, constructed on the remnants of a dilapidated Pier 54, is a vibrant, multi-venue, open air park. The Glade, capacity 200, was at capacity, all seats taken. We stood at the gate, our view of the stage more than alright. Sitting at a grand piano, the man we had come to see and hear, Mr Sullivan Fortner! 

For many years a member of Roy Hargrove's band, pianist Fortner has been sideman to many others (Peter Bernstein, Donald Harrison, Samara Joy) and a bandleader in his own right. This evening under the stars on the Hudson, Sullivan was here to give a jazz piano recital. From Alice in Wonderland to a mesmerising Tatum-esque stride piano feature, Fortner held the audience spellbound. And, as your scribe predicted, the Glade's summer concert series curator joined our pianist to sing a number. Take a bow, Cécile McLorin Salvant. The choice of tune somewhat less predicable...Climb Every Mountain. Sullivan and Cécile, under the stars in Manhattan, it doesn't get any better than this! Russell