Chris Potter Quartet
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
Chris Potter brings his quartet to the Village Vanguard for a two-set night in the club’s triangular basement room, where the stage sits beneath the red curtain and the audience is asked to keep its attention on the music. Potter leads the group on tenor saxophone. The bill does not name the other players for this date, but the quartet format puts the focus on Potter’s writing and improvising in a setting closely associated with his live work.
Potter is described by reviewers as “one of the most exciting saxophonists on the American and international scene,” with particular praise for his “instrumental mastery” and improvising. Glide has called his band an “elite quartet,” writing that it reaches “spiritual peaks,” while Jazz Weekly heard him in a “big and beefy Rollins-esque mood.” His earlier Village Vanguard recordings include Lift and Follow the Red Line. Potter has also written The Sirens, an Odyssey-inspired suite. Accounts of his live sets note the room he gives the band, including substantial passages for drum solos, alongside the force and range of his saxophone playing.
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.