Grammy-winning jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner joins WMUK host Cara Lieurance to discuss his historic recognition as the first-ever recipient of The Gilmore's Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award — and what it means to return to Kalamazoo for the festival's closing concert on May 10th.
Fortner describes learning of the $300,000 award as a moment of genuine surprise. He was pulled aside during a tour stop in Atlanta, learning the momentous news from Larry Bell and Pierre van der Westhuizen before a formal announcement ceremony in New York.
When asked how the prize money might be used, Fortner is still working out the details — he has four years to spend it — but floats several ideas, including renting a dedicated practice studio in New York, maintaining his weathered upright piano, and recording a choral album with his family.
On returning to Kalamazoo as an award honoree, Fortner says the recognition feels significant but keeps him grounded. "To come back in the capacity as award winner from the Gilmore award, and the first one in jazz, feels a little bit weighty, for sure," he says. "I'll just do what I do."
The conversation turns to the state of the music industry, where Fortner sees both promise and concern in the same trend: the democratization of music production. He notes that the proliferation of home recording and AI-assisted music makes it increasingly hard for listeners to discern authenticity — though he finds hope in audiences' post-pandemic hunger for live performance. "People want to hear real things," he says.
Fortner also shares what's currently on his listening rotation: Haydn string quartets, which he's studying while composing his own commissioned string quartet, and — somewhat unexpectedly — Justin Bieber's recent Coachella set. He's also absorbed in Balzac's novel The Lily of the Valley.
Tickets for Fortner's May 10th festival finale are available at thegilmore.org.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
