Chris Potter: Generations

Chris Potter is a tour de force, among the most influential saxophonists of the past 30 years. He has played with everybody, from bebopper Red Rodney to Steely Dan. At SFJAZZ, Potter is like family. He is music director of the SFJAZZ Collective and now returns to the SFJAZZ Center for his second season as a Resident Artistic Director. Last season, he premiered his song cycle (titled Sing to Me) for a 19-piece big band that included some of the most creative improvisers in jazz. This season, Potter unveils another ambitious work: Generations, a world premiere project scored for chamber orchestra and a jazz quartet consisting of tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums. Once again, the band features some of New York’s finest: Taborn, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade.

Potter describes the new evening-length work as “a meditation on the connections between people through time, and on the relationships between events of the past, present, and future. The compositional material is based on saxophone improvisations which have been edited and orchestrated, to give a feeling of improvisatory looseness to the written score. Each movement is framed by a phrase from Ecclesiastes 3: a Time to Be Born, to Build, to Embrace, to Weep, etc., concluding with a Time for Peace. I sought to integrate the orchestra and the jazz group in a fluid way, with different soloists and subgroups taking the lead at different times, while leaving plenty of space for improvisation. The stylistic variation from movement to movement reflects the multiplicity of situations faced by people over time, while the voice of the saxophone acts as a unifying constant, representing continuity through change.”

Over the years, Potter has distinguished himself as a composer for large ensembles. He creates beautifully detailed panels of sound that seem to float past the listener, evocatively, almost cinematically, while rhythm sections roil and Potter unleashes his titanic saxophone solos. Be prepared for more of that power and beauty when Chris Potter unveils Generations.