The first time I saw Chris Potter was in ’93 or possibly ’94 when he was blowing sax on stage with Steely Dan. The alto and tenor sax of this extraordinary musician can be heard on the Dan’s Two Against Nature that came out in 2000. One of the great things about being a fan of that group is getting turned on to the, without fail, killer players that Becker and Fagen recruit into their ranks. As this video attests, Potter is one heavy guy and, as is generally the case in the jazz world, when you are an ace – you surround yourself by and/or you surround other aces. Case in point: the guys who were playing at Dizzy’s with Chris recently: Jonathan Blake on drums and Scott Colley on bass. This gig was part of a handful of trio performances that Chris played as a prelude to unveiling his new group this Saturday featuring, of course, other heavy guys: David Virelles (piano) Joe Martin (bass) Marcus Gilmore (drums).
The performance on Saturday is part of the NYC Winter Jazzfest – a brilliant annual event that begins today and runs through Sunday featuring no fewer than 100 artists playing in venues across the city. Among other delights, the ECM stage at the New School’s Tishman Auditorium has especially tasty lineups on both Friday and Saturday but the festival is absolutely stacked with talent.