A prodigy who started performing professionally in his early teens, Chris Potter stands as one of the most inventive saxophonists performing today. The 38-year-old Potter became a leading force on the progressive mainstream scene as a key collaborator with star trumpeter Dave Douglas and iconic bassist Dave Holland. Increasingly establishing his own identity as a bandleader, he documented his highly calibrated funk/fusion combo Underground on 2007’s Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard. With his fat, crackling sound, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire started attracting attention as a standout in the Berkeley High School band. Since his 2007 first-place triumph at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, the most prestigious award for young players, the 26-year-old has become a rising star on the New York scene.

"Few of Potter’s contemporaries have been more
adept at seizing the musical moment and putting a
personal stamp on it"
—The New York Times