In case you haven't heard, Greg Fortune, the self-contained singer, songwriter and musician is creating sounds that are innovative, yet reminiscent of the classics.  Although blending Blues, R&B and Contemporary Jazz into a soulful gumbo, the music retains the intense flavor of each ingredient.

Born in Arizona, an army brat, he's experienced life on both U.S. coasts, having lived in several states as well as a briefly in Japan and later Sweden.  "No matter where I've been, music is a major part of my memories," he emphasizes, "I grew up listening to artists such as Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Prince and Michael Jackson.  These legends, among many others, remain the musical benchmark."

He began teaching himself to play guitar at 13 years old and began writing and recording songs while earning a degree in mechanical engineering at North Carolina A&T State University.  While an undergrad at A&T, he played guitar, keyboards and sang as a founding member of an R&B band called "Premier".

The emerging artist takes the craft of songwriting very seriously and has attended a summer songwriting session at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.  "The challenge in songwriting," he confides," is capturing a thought, emotion, or story with only a few words, a bit of music and a few minutes.  Anything non-essential is waste."

Fortune has produced and released three full-length albums to date, Essential (2002), Solitude (2010) as Gregory Alan, under his first and middle names, and most recently, As Blue Az UR (2021), which is an homage to Blues music.  Based out of Atlanta GA, Greg has performed exhaustively as a solo acoustic artist and band leader at local venues such as The Hard Rock Cafe', where in 2017, he completed a month long residency as a featured artist in their inaugural "Blues and Brews" series, and at festivals including the Yellow Daisy Festival, Wire and Wood Songwriters Festival, and Tunes from the Tombs.  Fortune also won the Atlanta Blues Challenge as a solo performer in 2024 and represented the Atlanta Blues Society in the 2025 International Blues Challenge.

Reminiscent of true musical legends like Bill Withers and Stevie Wonder, listen closely and, no doubt, you will soon find yourself moved by the sounds of Greg Fortune!

 

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