MAR 17-20 | SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Chris Potter
Mar 17 - Mar 18, 2022
Miner Auditorium
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
Chris Potter's FRI, MAR 18 concert will be broadcast live as part of Fridays Live, available to all SFJAZZ Members.
The most commanding saxophonist of his generation, Chris Potter premieres an evening-length song cycle for his 19-piece big band featuring vocalist Gretchen Parlato – and Potter himself, as soloist. Since childhood, Potter has been enamored of big bands – their collective power and orchestral possibilities. Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn have been his lodestars, along with Gil Evans. And like all worthy musical guides, they have inspired him to find his own compositional style, which is rich in detail, color, and mood. Potter is lyricist for a number of his new songs. Others are settings of texts by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Kabir Das, the 15th-century Indian mystic poet. Interpreted by an all-star band and Parlato, an exquisite artist, this ambitious new work is among the 2021-22 season’s highlights. And when Potter steps out front to solo, you can expect fireworks.
A monster saxophonist, Potter is one of the premiere improvisers of recent decades and a ubiquitous influence among younger players. Since emerging as a sideman 30 years ago with bebop trumpeter Red Rodney, he has played with everybody, from Pat Metheny to Steely Dan. A path-finding musician, he joins the SFJAZZ Collective this fall.
The most commanding saxophonist of his generation, Chris Potter premieres an evening-length song cycle for his 19-piece big band featuring the sublime vocalist Gretchen Parlato.
READ: Q&A w/ Chris Potter: His Big Band Fascination
CONCERT SPONSORS
Bannus and Cecily Hudson
His work is remarkably free of clichés and default licks….daring yet precise, with clean edges and unexpected implications….he is something special.
DownBeat
His work is remarkably free of clichés and default licks….daring yet precise, with clean edges and unexpected implications….he is something special.
DownBeat
Personnel
Chris Potter tenor saxophone
Gretchen Parlato vocals
Adam Rogers guitar
Craig Taborn piano
Reuben Rogers bass
Eric Harland drums
Marvin McFadden lead trumpet
Mike Olmos trumpet
Erik Jekabson trumpet
Kate Williams trumpet
John Gove trombone
Joel Behrman trombone
Marty Wehner trombone
Jamie Dubberly bass trombone
Mary Fettig flute
Melecio Magdaluyo flute
Patrick Wolff clarinet
Matt Renzi clarinet
Ben Goldberg bass clarinet
Easily the most compelling saxophonist of his generation
Detroit Free Press on Chris Potter
Personnel
Chris Potter tenor saxophone
Gretchen Parlato vocals
Adam Rogers guitar
Craig Taborn piano
Reuben Rogers bass
Eric Harland drums
Marvin McFadden lead trumpet
Mike Olmos trumpet
Erik Jekabson trumpet
Kate Williams trumpet
John Gove trombone
Joel Behrman trombone
Marty Wehner trombone
Jamie Dubberly bass trombone
Mary Fettig flute
Melecio Magdaluyo flute
Patrick Wolff clarinet
Matt Renzi clarinet
Ben Goldberg bass clarinet
Easily the most compelling saxophonist of his generation
Detroit Free Press on Chris Potter
A Q&A WITH CHRIS POTTER:
HIS BIG BAND FASCINATION
Since childhood, saxophonist Chris Potter has been enamored of big bands — their collective power and orchestral possibilities.
He remembers hearing Duke Ellington’s Queen’s Suite for the first time, and being bowled over: “There was just the richness of the colors, you know, from all the members of the band. And the way it was orchestrated was amazing — the compositional clarity, but also just the jazzness of it, the looseness. It was completely new to me. Each piece had its own feeling, and each member of Duke’s big band had his own sound. And when I heard that, I just fell in love with it.”
Ellington and Billy Strayhorn — Duke’s genius collaborator — have been his lodestars, along with Gil Evans. And like all worthy musical guides, they have inspired him to find his own compositional style, which is luminous. Over the years, he has recorded a number of albums for big band and other large ensembles. On each, he arranges 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.
He has now composed an evening’s worth of original music for a 19-piece big band — to be premiered March 17 and 18 at SFJAZZ with an all-star lineup that includes vocalist Gretchen Parlato. Part of his weeklong residency in San Francisco, it’s a project that was on Potter’s drawing board for several years. “I was always fighting for time to do things,” he explains. “But during the pandemic, I got to slow down and really focus. Because even thinking about getting some large-ensemble music played — that’s a real challenge. And now with this residency, I can actually do it.”
Watch & Listen
Chris Potter
Quick
Chris Potter
New Year's Day
Chris Potter
Quick
Chris Potter
New Year's Day