Chris Potter
American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist

Chris Potter

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American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist
Gender:
Male
Places:
United States of America
Is:
MusicianComposerClarinetistJazz musicianSaxophonist
Work field:
Music
Birth:
1 January 1971(Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA)
Star sign:
Capricorn
Genres:
JazzFree jazz
Instruments:
SaxophoneClarinetFlute
Education:
Manhattan School of Music
Dreher High School
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Biography

Introduction

Chris Potter (born January 1, 1971) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist.

Potter came to prominence as a sideman with trumpeter Red Rodney, before stints with drummer Paul Motian, bassist Dave Holland, trumpeter Dave Douglas and others.

Biography

Chris Potter was born in Chicago, Illinois, but his family moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he spent his formative years. Potter showed an early interest in a wide variety of different music and learned several instruments, including the guitar and piano. He realized after hearing Paul Desmond that the saxophone would be the vehicle that would best allow him to express himself musically. He has been quoted by Jazz Times as saying that, "'Music has always been a vehicle for me to investigate the things that are important about life. It’s been a way of figuring out what it is I need to say. Plus, I keep learning new things about it.'"

He played his first professional jazz gig on alto sax at age thirteen. He developed a devoted local following while performing with Johnny Helms and Terry Rosen. After leaving Columbia upon his graduation from Dreher High School, Potter attended college in New York City, first at the New School and later at the Manhattan School of Music. In New York he began performing with Red Rodney. He is currently based out of New York City.

Recordings

Potter has released albums as leader and performed as a sideman on more than 150 with Red Rodney, Pat Metheny, Marian McPartland, Patricia Barber, Kenny Werner,the Mingus Big Band, Paul Motian, Ray Brown, Jim Hall, James Moody, Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Wayne Krantz, Mike Mainieri, Steve Swallow, Steely Dan, Dave Holland, Joanne Brackeen, Adam Rogers.

His 2006 album Underground, on which he records with an electric, more "groove"-based ensemble featuring Craig Taborn on keyboard, Wayne Krantz or Adam Rogers on guitar; and Nate Smith on drums, was followed by Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard with Rogers on all six of its tracks.

Awards and honors

His 1998 album Vertigo was named one of the year's top ten jazz CDs by both Jazziz magazine and The New York Times. The album was inspired by a bout of Ménière's disease that caused severe dizziness and damaged his hearing in one ear. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for his work on the Joanne Brackeen album Pink Elephant Magic.He was awarded the Jazzpar Prize in 2000. His 2004 album Lift: Live at Village Vanguard was named one of the year's ten best jazz recordings by Fred Kaplan of Slate.

Potter has appeared in the Down Beat Critic's and Reader's Polls and named Rising Star for Best Tenor Saxophonist in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He was honored as Tenor Saxophonist of the Year 2013 by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Discography

As leader

  • Presenting Chris Potter (Criss Cross Jazz, 1993)
  • Concentric Circles (Concord Jazz, 1994)
  • Pure (Concord Jazz, 1995)
  • Sundiata (Criss Cross Jazz, 1995)
  • Moving In (Concord Jazz, 1996)
  • Concord Duo Series Volume Ten (Concord Jazz, 1996) with Kenny Werner
  • Unspoken (Concord Jazz, 1997)
  • Vertigo (Concord Jazz, 1998)
  • This Will Be (Storyville, 2001)
  • Gratitude (Verve, 2001)
  • Traveling Mercies (Verve, 2002)
  • Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (Sunnyside, 2004)
  • Underground (Sunnyside, 2006)
  • Song for Anyone (Sunnyside, 2007)
  • Follow the Red Line (Sunnyside, 2007)
  • Ultrahang (ArtistShare, 2009)
  • Transatlantic (Red Dot Music, 2011) with DR Big Band
  • The Sirens (ECM, 2013)
  • Imaginary Cities (ECM, 2015)
  • The Dreamer Is the Dream (ECM, 2017)
  • Circuits (Edition, 2019)
  • There Is a Tide (Edition, 2020)

As sideman

With David Binney

  • South (ACT, 2001)
  • Welcome to Life (Mythology, 2004)
  • Bastion of Sanity (Criss Cross Jazz, 2005)
  • Graylen Epicenter (Mythology, 2011)

With Scott Colley

  • Portable Universe (Free Lance, 1996)
  • Subliminal... (Criss Cross Jazz, 1997)
  • This Place (SteepleChase, 1998)
  • The Magic Line (ArtistShare, 2008)

With Dave Douglas

  • Magic Triangle (Arabesque, 1998)
  • Leap of Faith (Arabesque, 1999)
  • The Infinite (RCA, 2002)
  • Strange Liberation (Bluebird, 2003)

With Fleurine

  • San Francisco (Sunnyside, 2008)
  • Brazilian Dream (Sunnyside, 2018)

With James Francies

  • Flight (Blue Note, 2018)

With Greg Gisbert

  • Harcology (Criss Cross Jazz, 1994)
  • On Second Thought (Criss Cross Jazz, 1994)

With Dave Holland

  • Prime Directive (ECM, 1999)
  • Not for Nothin' (ECM, 2001)
  • What Goes Around (ECM, 2002)
  • Extended Play: Live at Birdland (ECM, 2003)
  • Overtime (Dare2, 2005)
  • Critical Mass (Dare2, 2006)
  • Pathways (Dare2, 2010)
  • Aziza (Dare2, 2016)
  • Good Hope (Edition, 2019)

With Ryan Kisor

  • On the One (Columbia, 1993)
  • Power Source (Criss Cross Jazz, 1999)

With Susannah McCorkle

  • Easy to Love: The Songs of Cole Porter (Concord Jazz, 1996)
  • Let's Face the Music: The Songs of Irving Berlin (Concord Jazz, 1997)
  • Someone to Watch Over Me: The Songs of George Gershwin (Concord Jazz, 1998)

With Pat Metheny

  • Unity Band (Nonesuch, 2012)
  • KIN (←→) (Nonesuch, 2014)
  • The Unity Sessions (Nonesuch, 2016)

With Mingus Big Band

  • Mingus Big Band 93 - Nostalgia in Times Square (Dreyfus, 1993)
  • !Que Viva Mingus! (Dreyfus, 1997)

With Paul Motian

  • Reincarnation of a Love Bird (JMT, 1994)
  • Flight of the Blue Jay (Winter & Winter, 1997)
  • Trio 2000 + One (Winter & Winter, 1998)
  • Play Monk and Powell (Winter & Winter, 1999)
  • On Broadway Vol. 4 or The Paradox of Continuity (Winter & Winter, 2006)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard (Winter & Winter, 2006)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. II (Winter & Winter, 2007)
  • Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. III (Winter & Winter, 2008)
  • Lost in a Dream with Jason Moran (ECM, 2010)

With John Patitucci

  • One More Angel (Concord Jazz, 1997)
  • Now (Concord Jazz, 1998)
  • Imprint (Concord Jazz, 2000)
  • Line by Line (Concord Jazz, 2006)

With Adam Rogers

  • Allegory (Criss Cross Jazz, 2003)
  • Apparitions (Criss Cross Jazz, 2005)

With Renee Rosnes

  • Ancestors (Blue Note, 1996)
  • As We Are Now (Blue Note, 1997)
  • Life on Earth (Blue Note, 2001)
  • Beloved of the Sky (Smoke Sessions, 2018)

With Alex Sipiagin

  • Images (TCB, 1998)
  • Steppin' Zone (Criss Cross Jazz, 2001)
  • Equilibrium (Criss Cross Jazz, 2004)
  • Prints (Criss Cross Jazz, 2007)
  • Destinations Unknown (Criss Cross Jazz, 2011)
  • Overlooking Moments (Criss Cross Jazz, 2013)
  • Moments Captured (Criss Cross Jazz, 2017)

With Steely Dan

  • Alive in America (Giant, 1995)
  • Two Against Nature (Giant, 2000)
  • Everything Must Go (Reprise, 2003)

With Steve Swallow

  • Deconstructed (Xtra Watt, 1997)
  • Always Pack Your Uniform on Top (Xtra Watt, 2000)
  • Damaged in Transit (Xtra Watt, 2003)

With John Swana

  • The Feeling's Mutual (Criss Cross Jazz, 1993)
  • Tug of War (Criss Cross Jazz, 1999)

With Joris Teepe

  • Seven Days a Week (VIA Jazz, 1998)
  • For Adults Only (Postcards, 2000)

With others