One of the most important of today’s tenor titans, Chris Potter produces another strong release with the cogent team of David Virelles/p-key, Joe Martin/b and Marcus Gilmore/dr. Potter’s got a thick and rich tone, and is elegiac with spacious support by Virelles on pieces such as the lovely “Heart In Hand” as well as the bouncy and boppy “Sonic Anomaly.” With African percussion, his post bop harmonics are impressive as he builds to a climax on “Ilimba” while going dramatically dark and modal on “Yasodhara.” Switching to soprano, he ears through the highly percussive groove and bass line on “Memory and Desire” while thick and rich on the bass clarinet for the first half on the title track while Gilmore’s brushes set the stage for Potter’s tenor to close like Mariano Rivera. Creative, modern, expressive and still accessible!
ECM Records