Jazz Articles about Chris Potter

Chris Potter Quartet: Lift: Live At The Village Vanguard

by Jim Santella
June 2, 2004

On fire during a live performance in New York, Chris Potter and his teammates stretch out in accordance with the jazz tradition. A lovely theme such as “Stella By Starlight,” or one of their original compositions, serves as a basis for individual expression on Lift. The saxophonist improvises with natural authority. His cohesive ensemble treats this December 2002 nightclub audience to a special evening out.

Patrons’ thoughts of holiday duties and winter worries must have been pushed ...

Mike Clark: Summertime

by Riel Lazarus
May 5, 2003

It's safe to say that drummer Mike Clark is most commonly associated with funk. Since his days as a member of Herbie Hancock's legendary Headhunters, Clark has been considered one of the foremost trapsmen of the genre. But funk is only a small part of what this veteran artist is capable of, and Summertime may finally spell the end to this unfortunate pigeonholing. As evidenced by his appearance last month at the Blue Note, Clark is every ...

Mike Clark: Summertime

by Jim Santella
March 3, 2003

Pianist Billy Childs and drummer Mike Clark make a great rhythm team. Their modern mainstream journey through new originals and familiar favorites swings with a surging intensity that’s stirred gently – not shaken. It’s your daddy’s music in a new picture frame.

”Summertime,” a personal favorite, is treated to a harmonic makeover. Using darkness and mystery, a quintet with Clark, Childs, Chris Potter, Jack Walrath and James Genus presents this gem as it’s never been shown before. ...

Jesse Green: Sylvan Treasure

by Dave Nathan
December 2, 2002

More and more jazz CDs these days are being released with a track listing dominated by original works of the principal performer. Jesse Green has followed this path with his latest offering. The pianist augments his regular group with bassist Frank Hauch and drummer Bruce Cox, adding some of the most entertaining and technically dominating veteran jazz artists working in contemporary jazz these days. Guesting with Green is an assembly of extraordinary musicians who are responsible for a significant share ...

The Jesse Green Trio: Sylvan Treasure

by C. Michael Bailey
October 23, 2002

A trio of saxophonists...

Wunderkind pianist, 29 year-old Jesse Green enlists the services of three saxophone heavyweights for his new recording, Sylvan Treasure. David Liebman, Chris Potter, and Phil Woods join brassman Patrick Dorian and the Jesse Green trio for a rollicking roll through Be Bop ("Extreme Sporting"), Post-Coltrane free bop ("Hesplopia"), and probing post bop ("Sylvan Treasure"). Green’s trio is crisp and polite and fancies order execution over the “Let Freedom Ring" principle. Green uses his sidemen in a ...

Dave Douglas: The Infinite

by AAJ Staff
October 15, 2002

This is a wonderful CD! Once again Dave Douglas scores big. It seems that this talented trumpeter just came out of nowhere and is suddenly upon us like a wild leopard. He deserves all the credit he gets.

I first ran into Dave Douglas at the 1999 Bell Atlantic 2nd Annual Jazz Awards in NYC. Dave Douglas was a new name--taking all the awards! He was standing beside me in the shadows, mumbling to himself how he didn't deserve all ...

Chris Potter: Traveling Mercies

by Mark F. Turner
September 18, 2002

Walking in jazz saxophonist Chris Potter's shoes on his new recording Traveling Mercies may prove to be a rewarding experience for the exploratory listener. The multitalented musician has covered a lot of ground on recent tours and sessions with acclaimed recordings such as the Dave Holland Quintet's Not for Nothin' and Steely Dan's Two Against Nature. His skill as musician, composer, and arranger comes to the forefront on Traveling Mercies to give the listener a glimpse of the musical roads ...