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Chris Potter

A world-class soloist, accomplished composer and formidable bandleader, saxophonist Chris Potter has emerged as a leading light of his generation. Down Beat called him "One of the most studied (and copied) saxophonists on the planet" while Jazz Times identified him as "a figure of international renown." Jazz sax elder statesman Dave Liebman called him simply, "one of the best musicians around," a sentiment shared by the readers of Down Beat in voting him second only to tenor sax great Sonny Rollins in the magazine's 2008 Readers Poll.

A potent improvisor and the youngest musician ever to win Denmark's Jazzpar Prize, Potter's impressive discography includes 15 albums as a leader and sideman appearances on over 100 albums. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his solo work on "In Vogue," a track from Joanne Brackeen’s 1999 album Pink Elephant Magic, and was prominently featured on Steely Dan’s Grammy-winning album from 2000, Two Against Nature. He has performed or recorded with many of the leading names in jazz, such as Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, John Scofield, the Mingus Big Band, Jim Hall, Paul Motian, Dave Douglas, Ray Brown and many others.

His most recent recording, Ultrahang, is the culmination thus far of five years’ work with his Underground quartet with Adam Rogers on guitar, Craig Taborn on Fender Rhodes, and Nate Smith on drums. Recorded in the studio in January 2009 after extensive touring, it showcases the band at its freewheeling yet cohesive best.

Since bursting onto the New York scene in 1989 as an 18-year-old prodigy with bebop icon Red Rodney (who himself had played as a young man alongside the legendary Charlie Parker), Potter has steered a steady course of growth as an instrumentalist and composer-arranger. Through the '90s, he continued to gain invaluable bandstand experience as a sideman while also making strong statements as a bandleader-composer-arranger. Acclaimed outings like 1997’s Unspoken (with bassist and mentor Dave Holland, drummer Jack DeJohnette and guitarist John Scofield), 1998’s Vertigo, 2001’s Gratitude and 2002’s Traveling Mercies showed a penchant for risk-taking and genre-bending. "For me, it just seemed like a way of opening up the music to some different things that I had been listening to but maybe hadn’t quite come out in my music before," he explains.

Potter explored new territory on 2004’s partly electric Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (with bassist Scott Colley, drummer Bill Stewart and keyboardist Kevin Hays) then pushed the envelope a bit further on 2006’s Underground (with guitarist Wayne Krantz, electric pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Nate Smith). As he told Jazz Times: "I've wanted to do something more funk-related...music that seems to be in the air, all around us. But also keep it as free as the freest jazz conception."

He continued in this electrified, groove-oriented vein with 2007’s Follow The Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard (with guitarist Adam Rogers replacing Krantz in the lineup). Says Potter of the adventurous new path he’s carved out for himself with his bass-less Underground quartet: “There was a point where I felt like the context I had been using before wasn’t quite working to express what I wanted or to move forward in some kind of way. My aesthetic as a saxophonist has always been based in Bird and Lester Young and Sonny Rollins and all the other greats on the instrument. What I’ve learned from them in terms of phrasing, sound, and approach to rhythm I’ll never outgrow. However music’s a living thing; it has to keep moving. I’ve been touched by many forms of music, like funk, hip hop, country, different folk musics, classical music, etc., and for me not to allow these influences into my music would be unnecessarily self-limiting. The difficulty is incorporating these sounds in an organic, unforced way. It helps me to remember I want people to feel the music, even be able to dance to it, and not think of it it as complicated or forbidding. If I can play something that has meaning for me, maybe I’ll be able to communicate that meaning to other people, and the stylistic questions will answer themselves.”

With the ambitious Song For Anyone (released in 2007 also and dedicated to the memory of Michael Brecker), Potter flexes his muscles as an arranger on original material for an expanded ensemble featuring strings and woodwinds. "That was a learning process," he says of this triumphant tentet project, "because I hadn’t done anything on that scale before. I just decided to sit down and write, and it was extremely gratifying to see how it translated into live performance."

Looking back over his 20 years since arriving in New York, Potter says, “I’ve had the chance to learn a lot from all the leaders that I’ve worked with. Each gave me another perspective on how to organize a band and make a statement. It’s taught me that any approach can work, as long as you have a strong vision of what you want to do.”

His initial gig with Red Rodney was an eye-opening and educational experience for the 18-year-old saxophonist. “I wish I had had the perspective I have now to appreciate what a larger-than-life character Red was.” Potter's years with Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band represented a wholly different approach from Rodney’s old school bebop aesthetic on stage. “Motian has really had a big affect on the way that I think about music,” says the saxophonist. “He approaches things from such an anti-analytical way. It’s so different than so many of the other musicians that I’ve had a chance to work with. Motian more relies on his aesthetic sensibility and his instinct. He’s basically just trusting his gut and he’s so strong about it that he can make it work. And it takes a lot of courage to do that.”

From bassist-bandleader Dave Holland he learned about the importance of focus and willpower. "Dave is determined to make his music as strong as possible and present it in the best way," says Potter, who has been a member of Holland's groups for the past 10 years. "Playing with him, you have the feeling there’s this mountain standing behind you that you can completely rely on. Working with him over the years has helped me see the true value of believing in what you’re doing.”

Potter also cites his time on the bandstand with guitar legend Jim Hall as inspirational. “The way that he can be both melodic and sweet and deeply inventive and open-minded at the same time made a big impression on me," he says. Touring and recording with the enigmatic duo of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan) offered further insights into the artistic process. “They totally went their own way," says Potter. “I have a lot of respect for them and their commitment to their art.”

And Potter has remained committed to his art since his formative years. Born in Chicago on Jan.1, 1971, his family moved to Columbia, South Carolina when he was 3. There he started playing guitar and piano before taking up the alto saxophone at age 10, playing his first gig at 13. When piano legend Marian McPartland first heard Chris at 15 years old, she told his father that Chris was ready for the road with a unit such as Woody Herman’s band, but finishing school was a priority. At age 18, Potter moved to New York to study at the New School and Manhattan School of Music, while also immersing himself in New York’s jazz scene and beginning his lifelong path as a professional musician.

Now a respected veteran (as well as a new father), Potter continues to work as a bandleader and featured sideman. Surely many interesting chapters await. As his longtime colleague, alto saxophonist-composer Dave Binney, told Down Beat, “Chris is open to anything now. From here on anything could happen.”

Source: Bill Milkowski
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New Releases From Chris Potter, Dave Douglas, Caroline Julia Cabalding, And More

by Bob Osborne
April 18, 2024

On this show we have all new releases from Chris Potter, Dave Douglas, Caroline Julia Cabalding, Kevin Sun, Nasheet Waits with Logan Richardson Jason Moran and Tarus Mateen, Queen Esther, Jacob Shulman, Roddy Elias, Adam Nolan, Gastón Reggio, Room 31, and Russ Lossing with Loren Stillman John Hebert & Eric McPherson. Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Chris Potter “Cloud Message" from Eagle's Point (Edition Records) 00:59 Dave Douglas “Seven Years Ago" from Gifts (Greenleaf) 08:22 Caroline Julia Cabalding ...

Play This!

Chris Potter Underground: Open Minds

by Mike Jacobs
March 23, 2024

This under-an-hour doc from 2009 is not only a satisfying snapshot of one of Chris Potter's most durable and exciting lineups but is also an insightful piece on band dynamics, material development and performance ethos in jazz. Filmed largely in the legendary (and now-defunct) 55 Bar, it also cannot help but deliver accompanying bittersweet pangs for the storied NYC dive/music chapel that is no more. Featuring Nate Smith, Craig Taborn and Adam Rogers. ...

Album Review

Chris Potter: Eagle's Point

Read "Eagle's Point" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
March 3, 2024

The question that comes to mind after listening to Eagle's Point is this: why have the four musicians, who have known each other since the 1990s, never recorded together before? For the combination of Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci and Brian Blade is a real meeting of minds; the stars are in perfect alignment. Potter's previous release, Got The Keys To The Kingdom (Edition, 2023), was a live set, recorded at New York's Village Vanguard, and ...

Readers Poll Results

Your Favorite Living Jazz Saxophonists

by Michael Ricci
January 25, 2024

Member votes were tabulated and this list represents our favorite living jazz saxophonists. Fully transparent and easily verifiable, All About Jazz's living saxophonists poll was conducted during the 2023 calendar year and ran up through January 24, 2024. We want to thank every member who participated in creating this impressive list (200 total!) for the next generation of jazz enthusiasts to discover. 1Chris Potter2Joshua Redman3Sonny Rollins4Joe Lovano5Charles Lloyd6Branford Marsalis7Kenny Garrett8David Sanborn9Kamasi Washington10David Murray11Eric Alexander12Jan Garbarek13Dave Liebman14James Carter15Miguel Zenon16Benny ...

Live Review

Mantova Jazz Festival 2023

by Angelo Leonardi
November 16, 2023

Mantova Jazz Festival Mantova, vari luoghi 13.10-10.11.2023 Giunto alla 43ma edizione, il jazz festival di Mantova continua a dimostrarsi attento agli sviluppi del jazz contemporaneo con programmi autorevolmente attrattivi, che presentano il meglio del panorama internazionale senza dimenticare i talenti locali. L'idea di fondo che ha guidato l'ultima rassegna era una ricognizione sulle “possibilità di un mainstream progressivo" attraverso quattro concerti che hanno visto di scena il quartetto “New Jawn" di ...

Radio & Podcasts

Chris Potter, Kait Dunton, Funkwrench Blues, Andrew Gorny & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 5, 2023

This week we focus on the reissue of a seminal project bridging acid jazz and trip-hop, the soundtrack to a film without pictures, a trip east bound and down fusion lane, a great crop of guitarists deserving wider recognition, and saxophonists of well-deserved recognition.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Marden Hill “Come On" Blown Away [Reissue] (Acid Jazz) 0:16 Host talks 4:45 Funkwrench Blues “The Calling" Soundtrack to ...

Play This!

Chris Potter Underground: The Wheel

by Mike Jacobs
August 7, 2023

Saxophonist Chris Potter has struck gold with many of his lineups but his Underground was indeed a special one, as this 2009 clip shows. With drummer Nate Smith, keyboardist Craig Taborn and guitarist Adam Rogers joining in, “The Wheel" turns and burns so, it may take a minute to notice the absence of a bassist but it's likely you won't care either. (Special kudos to Taborn for being able to engage in offstage banter while laying down a dynamite 15/8 ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

A world-class soloist, accomplished composer and formidable bandleader, saxophonist Chris Potter has emerged as a leading light of his generation. Down Beat called him “One of the most studied (and copied) saxophonists on the planet" while Jazz Times identified him as “a figure of international renown." Jazz sax elder statesman Dave Liebman called him simply, “one of the best musicians around," a sentiment shared by the readers of Down Beat in ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Advocacy

Photographer Jimmy Katz Announces Giant Step Arts, Artist-focused Non-profit Supporting Modern Jazz Innovators

Source: Braithwaite & Katz Communications
January 12, 2018

“[Katz] has developed an exceptional body of work in the jazz field, covering the elder statesmen, the icons, the mainstream and the young lions. In the process, he has developed his own style with the camera that is as identifiable as Armstrong’s tone on trumpet or Coltrane’s sound on tenor sax.”—Michael Cuscuna, producer, Blue Note Records For nearly 30 years, photographer Jimmy Katz has documented the world of jazz—crafting iconic portraits of legendary artists, capturing historic moments in the recording ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2018

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2017

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Chris Potter

Source: Michael Ricci
January 1, 2016

All About Jazz is celebrating Chris Potter's birthday today!

Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Education

Music Education Monday: Master classes with saxophonist Chris Potter

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
December 28, 2015

Whether it's as leader of his own bands or as a sideman to the likes of Dave Holland, Paul Motian, and Dave Douglas, Chris Potter has been one of the most in-demand saxophonists in jazz for most of the 21st century. Potter, who will be 45 years old this Friday, has released more than 15 albums as a leader and appeared on more than 150 recordings by others, winning critical acclaim for his technical mastery, harmonic imagination, and rhythmic fluidity. ...
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