Multi-instrumentalist Michael "Fort" Fortunato is a "young veteran" in the music industry, and a regular sideman for several Mid-Atlantic-based ensembles.  The grandson of Bill Lawrence, a former executive producer for Capitol, CBS, and Epic Records, Fortunato began playing woodwinds at age 10, studying jazz and classical clarinet and saxophone under notable Pittsburgh jazzman and educator Jim Guerra.  Fortunato quickly developed an interest in composition and arranging, which he regularly did for his high school ensembles and jam sessions.  By age 15, Fortunato had recorded his first album under Lawrence, and by 16 was playing jazz regularly with Duquesne University-based City Music Center in Pittsburgh.  Fortunato worked as a project coordinator and marketing lead on several of his grandfather's projects in his teenage years, and by age 18 he recorded his first major release, The Grand Island Casino with the bi-coastal Dublin/Pittsburgh-based New Stanton Band.  The old-school, clarinet-drenched lounge jazz album became a quick favorite with the jazz nostalgia set and quickly landed Fortunato international distribution, national radio interviews and critical acclaim, and a 5-album deal with Lawrence's Pittsburgh-based Alanna Records.  Fortunato continued to co-produce 6 albums and record several others under his grandfather's label until 2004.

At Penn State University, Fortunato branched more heavily into the live music scene, at one point playing lead tenor saxophone for Centre Dimensions (the PSU jazz ensemble).  During this stint, Fortunato became connected with Matthew Braden, Jeremy Joseph, and Gena Zaiderman who, after forming several successful bands, launched East Coast touring group 7 Souls.  It was here that Fortunato developed his unusual signature style of musical entertainment, playing several instruments (sometimes all at once), dancing around the stage, jumping on chairs and tables, and using a number of props like megaphones and peanuts.  Following the breakup of 7 Souls, Fortunato moved to New York City where he (oddly) played with Philadelphia-based ensembles like The Purple Church in Philadelphia and New York, and continued to make recordings with several East Coast groups.  He also launched Fortunet Entertainment, an all-in-one management and booking firm in 2001, promoting and booking legendary guitarist Alex Skolnick (Testament, The Alex Skonick Trio) and jazz nouveau quintet The Flail.  Upon returning to Central PA, Fortunato quickly joined local jam band sensation Cootie Brown as a quasi-frontman, and continued to innovate new entertainment techniques that blend blazing solos and rich melodies with interactive visual effects and a slapstick edge.

Fortunato plays many styles, and has been compared to LeRoi Moore, Maceo Parker, Eric Marienthal, and Donald Harrison.  His solo technique is broad, and combines intense rhythmic patterns and quick, funk/blues-influenced flourishes with rich, full sonorities through key segments of his solos.  Fortunato enjoys experimenting with his instruments, looking for alternative ways of creating sound (even screaming into his horns, or singing and playing at the same time), and he regularly sets up melodic patterns only to playfully deconstruct them later in the piece.  Fortunato occasionally ventures outside traditional chord and rhythm structures, but never far enough to alienate the first-time listener.  Fortunato has recorded and/or performed with Hounds of Soul, Cootie Brown, Royal Benson, Alex Meixner Band, 7 Souls, The Purple Church, The J. Hill Experience, Audio Imagery, Charlie Shaffer, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Point Park Reperatory Theatre, Centre Dimensions, The Mellon Jazz Festival Student Jazz Ensemble, and many others.  Getting back to his roots in production, composition, and arranging, he intends to release several new albums featuring his own music over the next five to seven years, including one album of Quintolades, or "quintos", a musical style he invented.