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Eldar Djangirov: Breakthrough

by Dan Bilawsky
"Point Of View Redux"--the eight-minute-long opener on pianist Eldar Djangirov's Breakthrough--doesn't exactly say it all, but it says a hell of a lot. A firmly delivered flourish flies through the air in the opening seconds, a rollicking riff sets things in motion as titan-like technique powers the warp-speed explorations that follow, things take a bluesy turn for a spell, and Djangirov generates enough energy to power an entire city block along the way. This aptly-titled number serves as a musical ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter: The Sirens

by Ian Patterson
Saxophonist Chris Potter has consistently shown a deep feeling for jazz tradition and a willingness to modernize his vocabulary at the same time. The lyricism of Lester Young, the fearlessness of Charlie Parker, the keening spiritualism of John Coltrane and the tireless creativity of Sonny Rollins all inspire him, as do funk, electric set-ups and classical music, and this openness has increasingly colored his discography with the passing years. The Sirens, Potter's debt for ECM as leader, is a return ...
Continue ReadingFebruary 2013: Chris Potter Quartet

by RJ Johnson
Chris Potter QuartetChris' Jazz CaféPhiladelphia, PAFebruary 22, 2013Although no longer considered the essential destination for working jazz groups that it once was, Philadelphia is still visited by high-level talent from New York that occasionally ventures south to perform in the city's one consistent jazz venue. Despite the current lack of mainstream interest in jazz, in Philadelphia or elsewhere, the Chris Potter Quartet performed two sets for a crowd which filled every seat, ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter: The Sirens

by John Kelman
The appearance of saxophonist Chris Potter as a leader on ECM may come as a surprise to some, but a look back at the label's 44-year history makes The Sirens--his label debut and 19th as a leader since first emerging with trumpeter Red Rodney before he'd turned twenty, and releasing his own debut, Presenting Chris Potter (Criss Cross), in 1992--not just sensible, but inevitable. Potter's history with the label, starting with bassist Dave Holland's longstanding quintet and big band, from ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter: The Personal Stamp

by R.J. DeLuke
Chris Potter is one of the most visible saxophonists on the scene in recent years. There are reasons for that. Not only does he have incredible chops, inner drive, intensity and the impulse to always be creative--as if that's not enough--he can fit into any musical situation and find a way to contribute.Coming through the ranks, including while he was a still a student at the Manhattan School of Music, he could be found playing in any situation. ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter: Transatlantic

by John Kelman
He's not exactly been quiet, performing with drummer Paul Motian's trio on Lost in a Dream (ECM, 2010), and continuing his ongoing relationship with Dave Holland, recently heard on tour with the bassist's flagship quintet at the 2011 Montreal Jazz Festival, but it's been two years since Chris Potter released Ultrahang (ArtistShare, 2009), his last date as a leader. Transatlantic ends Potter's recording hiatus, teaming the influential saxophonist with Denmark's DR Big Band for a brass-heavy set more orchestral in ...
Continue ReadingChris Potter / Steve Wilson / Terell Stafford / Keith Javors / Delbert Felix / John Davis: Coming Together

by Edward Blanco
Brendan Edward Romaneck was a young twenty-four-year-old saxophonist and composer preparing for his first recording date in the spring of 2005, when on April 20th he passed away just two weeks after his birthday. Coming Together was to be Romaneck's debut disc, containing eight original compositions and three covers. It now serves as a tribute to the young man, when his parents moved forward with the project in memory of their son. Romaneck had already lined up trumpeter Terell Stafford, ...
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