Potter's discography has been getting ameliorate with each passing year, but Underground (Sunnyside, 2006) was a truthful watershed, where conception, composition in addition to functioning came together for the virtually distinctive in addition to fully realized album of his career. Follow the Red Line is fifty-fifty better, featuring the same grouping but with guitarist Adam Rogers inwards house of Wayne Krantz, whose precipitous onset in addition to oblique lines were alongside Underground's defining points. Those solely familiar with Rogers' largely acoustic Criss Cross discs, including 2005's Apparitions, may live on surprised to listen him boot such serious butt here, but those who've heard his mid-1990s function with Lost Tribe know that he's undeniably capable of this variety of electrified, rock-and funk-edged music.
The gentle opening fanfare of "Train" starts the assault a lyrical in addition to subdued note, but it's non long earlier drummer Nate Smith kicks inwards with a visceral funk groove, bolstered yesteryear Craig Taborn's uncannily dichotomous Fender Rhodes. Potter takes the starting fourth dimension solo, edifice from seat down null to the stratosphere in addition to demonstrating the variety of paradoxical blend of restraint in addition to reckless abandon that makes his extended solos non precisely consistently captivating, but exhilarating. The same goes for Rogers, whose solo begins inwards melodic simplicity, but speedily takes off with a raucous liberate energy in addition to linear innovation that's the primary argue why he, along with Ben Monder, are 2 of New York's virtually in-demand guitarists across a broad swatch of styles. His tone is dense in addition to sustaining, with a punchy onset and, similar Potter, has an mightiness to milk the simplest of vamps for all it's worth.
Taborn gets to do the same affair during the unrelenting, single-chord vamp that's at the amount of "Arjuna," with Rogers soul-drenched single-line anchoring hand-in- glove with Smith's loose in addition to unyieldingly responsive groove. "Pop Tune #1" offers a brief respite; a countrified ballad where Roger's rich, sustaining chords back upwards Potter's singable tune earlier taking a blues-drenched lead. Rogers builds dramatically, solely to all of a abrupt dissolve every bit Potter morphs the tune into around other lengthy in addition to funk-laden vamp where everyone raises the temperature during his blistering in addition to idea-filled solo.
It's an practise inwards futility to notice a cite for the music of Follow the Red Line. But every bit Potter blurs the lines betwixt jazz, rock, funk in addition to fifty-fifty a piddling afro- shell inwards ways that are finally beingness accepted i time to a greater extent than 2 decades afterwards The New York Times declared the "pestilence known every bit fusion is dead," the best give-and-take to line this recording is, quite simply, great.
Chris Potter's quartet Underground should live on looked upon every bit i of the many facets inwards the saxophonist's prismatic sentiment of contemporary jazz. Certainly the band is oriented toward a progressive jazz picture with the electrical guitar function of the vivid Adam Rogers in addition to Craig Taborn's witty in addition to pungent Fender Rhodes keyboard.
Assumedly the concept of Underground harks somewhat to the fusion of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, in addition to Chick Corea. But Potter's vision with this combo goes beyond those static in addition to funkier values, entering a wilder, unabashed, in addition to violent aggression that cannot live on corralled. In alive functioning at the storied Village Vanguard nightclub inwards Greenwich Village, y'all hold off in addition to have long drawn-out compositions, extended solos peculiarly from Potter, in addition to novel music tried out every bit audience experiments.
"Train" is a long 16-minute trip, with mixed meters starting inwards 3/4 in addition to going to 6/8, edifice momentum in addition to leading to alternating beats of ix in addition to 7 in addition to Potter's extended opening salvo solo. This is intense music -- sliced, diced, marinated, in addition to flash-seared yesteryear Potter. "Arjuna" (not the Yusef Lateef composition) is a spectral audio analysis, lower telephone commutation in addition to illuminated, with a drum solo from Nate Smith, a Rhodes solo, choppy sax, in addition to a workout from Potter in addition to Rogers. Fond of interval leaps in addition to overblown harmonic displacements, Potter's tenor is driven during "Viva Las Vilnius" over a quirky rhythmic thought meshed with a funky bottom terminate in addition to Latin or ethnic inferences.
The finally 2 pieces of the prepare are decidedly settled, every bit Taborn's soulful electrical pianoforte on the lean ballad "Zea" places the grouping inwards a calmer house in addition to Potter plays fragile bass clarinet inwards an upper register atypical of its park throaty sound. The finale, "Togo," is a version of the swell melodic composition drummer Ed Blackwell brought to the repertoire of Old in addition to New Dreams. It's really good rendered, with Potter sticking to bass clarinet, understating the tune with reverence in addition to abide by earlier Taborn goes crazy, stepping upwards the vibe into a funky fashion spell Potter switches to tenor in addition to plays the calmer terminal chorus.
For Potter's fans, this is a worthwhile improver to his growing discography. Considering Potter every bit a novel music composer, this indicates how his music is changing in addition to nonetheless flowering, in addition to inwards a developmental stage. Evidently Potter in addition to the audience were really pleased with the results, in addition to peradventure a 2nd book of these sessions is inwards the can.
Track Listing:
1. Train
2. Arjune
3. Pop Tune #1
4. Viva Las Vilnius
5. Sea
6. Togo
Personnel:
Chris Potter: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet;
Adam Rogers: guitar;
Craig Taborn: Fender Rhodes;
Nate Smith: drums.
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