cover pic Gratitude
Chris Potter
 
 
 
Verve   3145494332
New York -- Sept 27-28, 2000
 
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Chris Potter: soprano, alto and tenor saxophones; bass clarinet; alto flute; Chinese wood flute
Kevin Hays: piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano
Scott Colley: bass
Kevin Hays Brian Blade: drums
  1. The Source **
  2. Shadow **
  3. Sun King **
  4. High Noon **
  5. Eurydice **
  6. The Mind’s Eye Intro **
  7. The Mind’s Eye **
  8. Gratitude **
  9. The Visitor **
  10. Body & Soul
  11. Star Eyes
  12. Vox Humana **
  13. What’s New
Homegrown Review
 
Gratitude opens with a piano strike that is more like a splash of color than a readily identifiable chord... and that makes an apt intro for this disc, which is not musically commonplace, but is vivid, energetic, and appealing.
 
Chris’s first session as leader for Verve is a tribute disc. Which shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, seeing as Verve is home to a number of noteworthy tribute sessions [Ella’s Songbooks, Henderson’s Lush Life, etc.] True to form, though, Chris does things rather differently.
 
He pays tribute to a variety of the reedmen who have influenced and inspired him, but [for the most part], not in the usual way of playing songs they’ve written, or songs closely associated with them, or trying to make himself sound like them. Chris has written originals for each person, trying to capture within it some of the intangibles about that artist that speak to him. Not the easy way to go about it, but he pulls it off admirably.
 
The opener The Source is for John Coltrane, and structurally it is similar to some of Trane’s better-known compositions: deceptively simple and catchy, but with unexpected twists. Shadow tries to capture Joe Henderson’s “relaxed, unhurried vibe”, as Chris says in the liner notes... but he in no way sounds like he’s trying to “do Joe”, he just sounds like Chris. The presence of electric piano [here and elsewhere on the album] is new to Chris’s sessions, but a well-integrated expansion of his sonic palette. (Maybe his recent work with Steely Dan sharpened his taste for the Fender Rhodes??...)
 
Speaking of new sounds, Vox Humana opens with the sound of Chris on Chinese wood flute -- to which he adds, “Hopefully, the fact that I don’t really know how to play it gives it a certain childlike innocence.” All I can say in response is, I wish that I could not play it the way that he can’t play it....
 
Sun King opens with a bass riff lethal in its coolness, and then blossoms into a bouncy number “written in 15” to honor Sonny Rollins’s rhythmic flexibility. But once again, Chris has written a structurally challenging song that flows so naturally you don’t even notice: a brilliant piece of writing that I’ve had to add to my favorites list. And this numberBrian Blade is as good an example as any of the interplay and musicianship that permeates this entire session. Blade drives the song with an intensity merciless at times, negotiating the 15s with nonchalant ease. Hays maintains the spritely energy of the theme while permutating it and developing it with the focus of a Rollins or Monk. And Scott Colley, well... I’m running out of ways to describe his unfailing excellence.
 
A moment here to mention some exceptions to these group performances on Potter originals. Body and Soul as a tribute to Coleman Hawkins is a self-evident choice, but Chris takes it on bass clarinet instead of the traditional tenor, explaining “I didn’t see what more I could add.” Interesting, in that the first time Chris tackled this song on record, he was willing to do so on tenor, but today, as a more mature player, he declines... (perhaps this demonstrates that the more you learn, the more you realize how much is still left to learn?)
 
Star Eyes is a less obvious nod to Charlie Parker, a cover that Bird was fond of playing. And for this song, Chris breaks out his alto, Parker’s axe of choice. However, note the distinct lack of Parkerisms in Chris’s playing -- once again, he just sounds like himself.
 
And the final track, dedicated to “the Current Generation”, is Chris a capella, forcing all focus on his playing. And in 2:25, this track sums up, as well as anything can, just where Chris is at this time. Everything is here: his respect and connection to the tradition, his willingness to stretch it, his technical command, his strong beautiful tone, his musical imagination, his ability to sustain interest and make every note sound like the right choice... this is the state of his art, and an excellent way to launch his [and our] journey into the new century.