Lift - Chris Potter Quartet

Dec

19

Lift - Chris Potter Quartet

≡ Category: 2000s, Post Bop, Recommended, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

Lift begins audaciously enough. The first minute of the date is an unaccompanied saxophone solo by Chris Potter in which he outlines the form of the tune he’s going to play, even while his improvisation flirts with polyphony.

To up the ante, Lift is a live date, recorded at the Village Vanguard in NYC (on the Sunnyside label).

Soon enough, Kevin Hays on keys, Scott Colley on bass, and Bill Stewart on drums join in. These guys are playing full out. There’s no vamping or whipping out the standard licks or patterns from the trick bag here. Everyone is listening to everyone else on a very high level — it’s rare to hear that kind of focus.

Kevin Hayes takes the first solo, not counting Chris Potter’s introduction, and he’s a model of lucidity, with a crisp clear sound. Hays’ right hand sparkles on the runs and the left hand stabs of chord clusters are sparse and judiciously chosen. No clutter for Mr. Hays.

Later on, Chris Potter duets with drummer Bill Stewart, relishing the opportunity to maintain the form of the tune, improvise licks, and trade rhythmic ideas with the drummer, all at the same time.

To people accustomed to saxophonists like Michael Brecker, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, and Dave Liebman, Chris Potter might sound a little plain. Not for him the florid vibrato, screaming high notes, out of register honks and squeals, and affected soul riffs of so many other players. On Lift, Chris Potter is all about note choices and rhythm.

In fact, if there’s a weakness in Chris Potter’s playing, it shows up in his ballad readings. On Stella By Starlight, the notes are lovely, but Potter’s tone is arid. If you want romance, you won’t get it here, but Potter’s Stella is intellectually engaging.

In a way, this weakness extends to Potter’s compositions, which don’t have obvious hooks. You won’t be singing any of Chris Potter’s tunes in the shower. Mind you, his compositions have plenty of ideas, it’s just that Potter doesn’t seem to be operating under any compulsion to entertain the general public. He doesn’t seem to care much about making his music accessible.

I personally find it admirable that Potter cares only about pleasing himself and possibly his fellow musicians (unless I’m mistakenly reading that into the music), but the result is that Lift can only be enjoyed on one level. You have to really listen to it to appreciate the group interplay, the cleverness of the compositions, and the impressive improvising abilities of Chris Potter and Kevin Hays.

In other words, don’t play Lift in your car unless you plan on being in rush hour traffic and actually have time to listen and think.