Sullivan Fortner, a 39-year-old jazz pianist and three-time Grammy winner, has released his sixth studio album titled Leave That in There. The project represents a deliberate shift toward artistic freedom and self-expression, with Fortner abandoning his previous approach of extensive post-production editing in favor of spontaneous creativity.
The album’s title derives from Spike Lee’s 2006 documentary When the Levees Broke, specifically referencing a moment when a woman tells someone to leave her purse behind in her car. Fortner has transformed this phrase into an artistic statement against self-censorship, using it as a framework for exploring personal and collective memory. The record draws heavily on Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 when Fortner was 18 years old and preparing for his second year at Oberlin Conservatory. During the disaster, Fortner witnessed his girlfriend and her mother waiting for evacuation buses while watching CNN, experiencing the helplessness of disconnected communication with family members who were being displaced.
Musically, Leave That in There spans multiple genres and influences. The opening track, Sugarcane, incorporates Kayvon Gordon’s criss-crossing bàtá drumming to root the work in Louisiana’s history as a sugar trade hub built on enslaved labor. The album journeys through Latin acoustic piano, Hammond organ, tributes to Thelonious Monk, and synthesizer work. Two compositions titled A Poignant Time and Another Poignant Time reference a Wynton Marsalis quote from Lee’s documentary about systemic failures revealed by the disaster.
Fortner emphasizes that while Hurricane Katrina exposed deep problems in American society—including denied insurance claims and inadequate federal disaster response—it also demonstrated the resilience of New Orleans residents who chose to rebuild. He notes that people continue processing the trauma decades later through mental and physical health challenges and grief. Fortner’s own family remained in the New Orleans area, and he credits his musical foundation to his family’s church traditions and early mentorship from organist Ronald Markham, who introduced him to classical music and multiple genres at age 11. He later studied with legendary pianist Fred Hersch, who encouraged intuitive playing over over-rehearsed precision.
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