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Super Bowl of jazz piano competitions awards $100,000 to Sullivan Fortner

Wei-Huan Chen
wei-huan.chen@indystar.com

New Orleans native Sullivan Fortner was awarded $100,000 at the American Pianists Association's Cole Porter Fellowship Awards, winning what is essentially the Super Bowl of jazz piano competitions.

The association, based in Indianapolis, bestowed the largest award in the world for young professional jazz pianists.

At a Hilbert Circle Theatre packed with sharp tuxes and big names Saturday — guests included jazz legend Dianne Reeves, bassist Christian McBride, NBC anchor Lester Holt and Mayor Greg Ballard — Fortner closed his set of performances with a rendition of Thelonius Monk's "I Mean You" with the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra.

Fortner beat out the eclectic, hip-hop influenced Kris Bowers, the noted New York pianist Emmet Cohen, the virtuosic Christian Sands and recent Indianapolis-based pianist Zach Lapidus.

The American Pianists Association holds two alternating national competitions supporting up-and-coming professional pianists in the world, one for jazz and one for classical. The Cole Porter Fellowship takes place every four years.

Fortner will receive $50,000 in cash. The two-year fellowship's benefits, which include international gigs, are valued at more than $100,000.

On Saturday night, Reeves' sultry, passionate vocals — which have earned her a reputation as a modern-day Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald — flew high over Fortner's slippery chords in the Cole Porter composition "Just One of those Things." Fortner then took over the stage with a subtle yet enormous solo.

The event wasn't the only metric for the competition. A semifinal event took place Friday night at the Jazz Kitchen. An outreach series featured the five finalists conducting three-day residencies at local high schools, as well as a concert at Eskenazi Health.

Fortner is a member of the Roy Hargrove Quintet. He has performed with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Nicholas Payton, Theo Croker and Gary Bartz.

The award honors Cole Porter, a Peru, Ind., native considered one of the most important composers of the early 20th century.

Wei-Huan Chen can be reached at (317) 444-6249 or on Twitter at @weihuanchen.