feature photo: Dave Stapleton
With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic came the lockdown and musicians have since been shut out of performing live in front of paying audiences. Sax maestro Chris Potter was impacted along with the others; he’s been a road warrior since the 90s. But where other musicians saw obstacles, Potter saw an opportunity. While he was holed up at home, he made a record. All by himself. In six weeks during the spring of 2020, he went from nothing to the album we’re discussing here, There Is A Tide.
Potter, you see, has the ability to play virtually any instrument, compose in any form and do either in any style. On There Is A Tide he plays piano, keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, drums, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, saxophones, percussion and samples. That’s Prince-level DIY right there but even Prince couldn’t play woodwinds and Potter is one of the best at that.
The music contained within is technically what would be coined “fusion jazz,” but for this I’d prefer the term “contemporary modern jazz” because Potter’s compositions fit that mold and the syncopation he achieves on these tracks suggests an aptitude to understand every aspect of recording music, such as the parts played by each instrument, making them come together gracefully and devising arrangements that cast these songs in their best light.
No, these songs aren’t idle jams, these are intricately put-together affairs, and many of them, such as “I Had A Dream,” “Beneath The Waves” and “As The Moon Ascends” are pretty much through-composed and have a chamber-jazz quality to them.
Potter isn’t soloing on those ‘other’ instruments but rest assured he’s approaching his playing to them very seriously. Guitars, bass organ and piano come together with precision on “Oh So Many Stars” and then intertwine with his flute and later, sax. Discreetly, he layers on enough woodwinds that without fanfare, the sound is nearly orchestral. On the very next track “Drop Your Anchor Down,” Potter even builds his melody on the bass line, as a finger-picked guitar initially states the melody for “Rest Your Head.”
Where Potter does leave space for improvising, he’s does it with as much chops as when he interacts with others in real time; leaving behind splendid ones first on tenor sax and then bass clarinet for “Like A Memory” and his deadly soprano sax on “Mother of Waters.”
Chris Potter used his idle time to make a record that’s actually ambitious and pulls together his boundless array of talents in the service of thoughtful, quality jazz. We already knew that Potter is good, but know we now know that he’s good even he has to do everything by himself.
There Is A Tide is now out and offered by Edition Records.
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