Chris Potter Quartet
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
Chris Potter brings his quartet to Village Vanguard for a late-night performance. The listing bills the group simply as the Chris Potter Quartet and does not name the musicians scheduled to join him, so this is a chance to hear Potter’s current four-piece band without presuming a lineup from earlier Vanguard engagements. In the club’s triangular downstairs room, the stage sits at the point of the space, with tables fanning out toward it and the room’s attention held on the music.
Potter is a tenor saxophonist known both as a leader and as a sideman. A documented Village Vanguard quartet featured Craig Taborn on piano, Scott Colley on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums alongside Potter, the lineup heard on Got the Keys to the Kingdom: Live at the Village Vanguard; that personnel has not been confirmed for this date. Couleurs Jazz calls him “one of the most exciting saxophonists on the American and international scene,” citing his instrumental mastery and improvising. Jazz Weekly hears a “big and beefy Rollins-esque mood” in his playing, while Glide Magazine describes the quartet’s extended performances as intense, at times reaching “spiritual peaks.”
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.