Fortner and Owens Set Divergent Courses at Miner
With pianist Sullivan Fortner shaping the harmonic framework and rhythmic dialogue, Endea Owens’ music unfolded as a shared language—rooted in tradition, driven by groove, and oriented toward community uplift.
Endea Owens, bass and vocals, leads The Cookout at SFJAZZ Center's Miner Auditorium. Photo: Steve Roby / Backstage Bay Area
The evening at Miner Auditorium began before a note was played. For nearly twenty minutes, a full house sat in near silence—no walk-in music, no announcements, only quiet exchanges and the occasional reassurance that the performance would begin shortly. When Endea Owens stepped into the light, smiling and waving as if greeting a backyard gathering, the room released its tension in a single breath. The entrances set the tone: two artists, two distinct approaches to performance, each given space to define the room on their own terms.
Endea Owens & The Cookout
Owens opened—an unexpected placement given her SFJAZZ debut and Sullivan Fortner’s recent Grammy recognition—but the logic became clear quickly. From the opening of “Vibes,” the audience responded physically, clapping along as Miner shifted from concert hall to communal space. Owens leads from the bass, cueing transitions with her body, locking the rhythm section, then stepping forward as a vocalist with practiced ease.
Imani Rousselle, guest vocals, with Endea Owens & The Cookout at SFJAZZ Center. Photo: Steve Roby / Backstage Bay Area
The frontline pairing of Irwin Hall (sax) and Alphonso Horne (trumpet) delivered focused intensity, while pianist Keith Brown balanced harmonic support with restraint. Drummer Lee Pearson anchored the set, building a groove that was both flexible and firm. When vocalist Imani Rousselle joined for “The Very Thought of You,” the ensemble expanded, and the arrangement revealed a deeper emotional register beneath its warmth.
Midway through the set, Owens addressed the delayed start with understated humor, explaining a backstage wardrobe issue and earning a warm response from the audience. The exchange reinforced The Cookout's ethos: participation over presentation, connection over distance.
She closed with electric bass on “Before I Let Go,” a choice that carried the energy forward. The standing ovation followed naturally, reflecting a set built on shared momentum.
Sullivan Fortner Trio
The Sullivan Fortner Trio — Kayvon Gordon, Tyrone Allen, and Sullivan Fortner — at SFJAZZ Center's Miner Auditorium. Photo: Steve Roby / Backstage Bay Area
After intermission and a complete reconfiguration of the stage—reduced lighting, tighter formation—the room settled into a different mode of attention. Sullivan Fortner approached his Miner debut as a bandleader with a clear directive: sustained listening.
Opening with Charles Mingus’s “Pithecanthropus Erectus,” Fortner set a weightier tone. With Tyrone Allen on bass and Kayvon Gordon on drums, the trio established a grounded presence. Fortner’s playing unfolds in layered motion: the left hand sustains rhythmic frameworks rooted in second-line and Caribbean traditions, while the right hand simultaneously reshapes melody and time. Multiple lineages remained audible at once, integrated into a single voice.
Between pieces, Fortner addressed the audience with conversational ease, inviting engagement. He dedicated “Cruise Joint” to a string of jazz cruise circuits, drawing laughter before guiding the room back into close listening. Introducing Gabriel Fauré’s “Au bord de l’eau,” he offered a brief reflection on the music’s harmonic depth, framing the piece without interrupting its flow.
A moment of spontaneity arose when Fortner polled the audience about the correct phrasing of “(I Don’t Stand) A Ghost of a Chance With You.” When the room hesitated, he turned to pianist Aaron Diehl, seated in the audience, who immediately supplied the answer. The exchange underscored a sense of shared knowledge in the room.
Fortner closed with a pointed appeal to support living musicians (“because the dead don’t need your help”), delivered with clarity and conviction. He then launched into “This Could Be the Start of Something Big,” carrying that call into the music with energy and precision.
The Pairing
Terence Blanchard’s UpSwing Series builds its identity through contrast, placing artists in proximity to reveal different trajectories within the music. The pairing of Fortner and Owens made that contrast explicit. Owens constructed a participatory environment grounded in groove and collective energy. Fortner shaped a listening space defined by elasticity and detail.
Each set succeeded on its own terms. Together, they established distinct centers of gravity within the same room. The audience responded in kind, shifting from physical engagement to sustained attention throughout the evening. That contrast revealed a broader truth about the current state of jazz: multiple directions, each fully realized, coexisting side by side.
Owens transformed Miner into a communal gathering. Fortner reshaped it into a focused listening environment. The evening held both without compromise.
Program Notes
Event: Terence Blanchard’s UpSwing Series
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2026
Showtime: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Miner Auditorium, SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco
Endea Owens & The Cookout — Personnel
Bass / Vocals: Endea Owens
Alto Saxophone: Irwin Hall
Trumpet: Alphonso Horne
Piano: Keith Brown
Drums: Lee Pearson
Vocals (guest): Imani Rousselle
Setlist (Endea Owens & The Cookout): “Vibes,” “Where the Nubians Grow,” “The Very Thought of You,” “Feel Good,” “For the People,” “Before I Let Go”
Sullivan Fortner Trio — Personnel
Piano: Sullivan Fortner
Bass: Tyrone Allen
Drums: Kayvon Gordon
Setlist (Sullivan Fortner Trio): “Pithecanthropus Erectus,” “Cruise Joint,” "Trinkle, Tinkle," “Au bord de l’eau,” “Blue Lou” (bridge: “Holler Stomp”), “(I Don’t Stand) A Ghost of a Chance With You,” “This Could Be the Start of Something Big”
Encore: “I Can’t Help It”
