Jazz Articles about Chris Potter

like 279

Chris Potter 10: Song for Anyone

by John Kelman
September 5, 2007

While Chris Potter's other release on the same day, Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard (Sunnyside, 2007), is a feature for his high energy, rock- and funk-inflected Underground group, Song for Anyone presents a side to the saxophonist that's not been heard before. Written for an unorthodox combination of instruments, it focuses more heavily on Potter the composer. Still, while context is everything, from the opening notes of the appealing yet knotty “The Absence" it becomes clear ...

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Chris Potter Underground: Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard

by John Kelman
September 4, 2007

In a rare move, saxophonist Chris Potter has released two CDs on the same day, and on the same label--Song For Anyone, his first album for a large ensemble; and Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard, featuring the Underground band that's been touring for the past couple of years. Risky, perhaps, but Potter's significance--the clear torch-carrier for the recently departed Michael Brecker-- continues to grow, and is one of a limited number of artists who can actually ...

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Dave Holland: Critical Mass

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 22, 2007

Questo ottimo album del bassista Dave Holland incarna l’idea di classicità moderna. Ascoltandolo se ne ricava immediatamente la sensazione che sia un lavoro che si pone in una posizione ‘centrale’ nel panorama jazzistico dei giorni nostri. Una sorta di raffinata costruzione architettonica attorno alla quale ruota la musica stessa di Dave Holland, un bassista che non si è fatto mancare in passato i brividi delle avanguardie anche più estreme e che strada facendo ha deciso di ‘rientrare’ in gruppo. Senza ...

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Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass

by Joel Roberts
December 5, 2006

Bassist extraordinaire Dave Holland believes that like fine wine, music shouldn't be unbottled before its time. Holland and his highly regarded quintet spent a year and a half honing and retooling the music on their new album until it reached the point he calls “critical mass, where “it has become what it's going to be. That patience, care and commitment to getting things right is evident throughout Critical Mass. This is the work of a working band, ...

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Chris Potter: Underground

by Martin Gladu
September 12, 2006

Evidently, rhythm is at the core center of this contemporary and urban-sounding album. Throughout these hard-driving selections, Chris Potter and his 55 Bar cohorts deliver rock-solid performances, both individually and collectively. In fact, one cannot not mention Potter's producing and A&R work--it firmly positions this album as jazz/fusion album of the year (if one can overlook the weird splice in the first track). More, it provides him an exciting live unit.Indeed, Nate Smith is a powerhouse. His energetic ...

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Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass

by Nic Jones
September 4, 2006

This particular lineup of Dave Holland's longstanding quintet had apparently been working for eighteen months prior to recording this disc, and that simple fact oozes out of every note played. There is a level of cohesion and empathy here that arguably can come only from such longstanding associations.

Holland is anything but despotic in his leadership responsibilities, and every member of the group gets a composer's credit here. The result is a diversity of approaches that makes for rewarding listening, ...

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Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass

by John Kelman
August 23, 2006

It's been five years since the last studio record by Dave Holland's quintet. But between touring on its own and as the core of Holland's big band, which was responsible for the outstanding Overtime (Dare2, 2005), the unit shows no sign of slowing down. Critical Mass proves that when the chemistry is right, even longstanding bands can continue to improve by introducing new elements, without forgetting what made them great in the first place. The quintet has been ...